| PROSPECTS FOR VICTORY AND THE BATTLE OF BULL RUN And the standoff at Sumter put the land in turmoil, As the blood of young men would now soak through the soil, To decide who'd be victor in this baleful affair -- With both sides sure as sure that they did not compare! Indeed, tthe South knew her terrain, the true lay of the land, And with a fierce rebel yell would gladly die in their stand. Whose souls fought in defense and not for gate-crashing, And whose shooters were ace, their men valiant and dashing. While the North, they believed, had scant will for a fight: -- 'Twas an odd Yankee wish to hold their enemies tight! (In fact, the venomous snake, the mean Copperhead, Was the term for those Yanks who'd leave the South to its stead). Ah, but the North had free men; indeed, many time more, And factories, and rations and railroads galore. And Abe's call for recruits echoed widely and loud: 75,000 arrived to great cheers from the crowd. In their Blue union suits, so bright-eyed and eager, For a 90 day tour (which, alas, proved too meager). Yes, with weapons and zeal and with more and more men, They too thought triumph was just a matter of when! So both aimed to win quick with a walloping rout, When they met at Bull Run for a first-round knockout. Where onlookers showed up, all expecting good sport, With a packed picnic lunch, as if by a tennis court! But as the gunsmoke did waft and the bodies lay bare, There was only the game of most grisly warfare. As the Gray suited troops campaigned fiercely and well, And the fields were soon strewn with soldiers who fell. And the tough Thomas Jackson, the South's old "Stonewall", Showed by a spirit undaunted it would be a long haul. -- Indeed, four grueling years, 600,000 men killed, For this frantic frayed land to determine her will... |
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| Worksheet # 70 |
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