William McCarty, comp. The American National Song Book. 1842.
The Pillar of GloryEdwin Clifford Holland (17941824)
H
The darkness which shrouded America’s name;
Long shall their valour in battle that lighten’d,
Live in the brilliant escutcheons of fame:
Dark where the torrents flow,
And the rude tempests blow,
The stormy clad spirit of Albion raves;
Long shall she mourn the day,
When in the vengeful fray,
Liberty walked like a god on the waves.
Where fortune has destined Columbia to reign,)
Gleams with the halo and lustre of story,
That curl round the wave as the scene of her fame:
There, on its raging tide,
Shall her proud navy ride,
The bulwark of Freedom, protected by Heaven;
There shall her haughty foe
Bow to her prowess low,
There shall renown to her heroes be given.
Shall last till eternity rocks on its base;
The splendour of Fame, its waters that brightens,
Shall light the footsteps of Time in his race:
Wide o’er the stormy deep,
Where the rude surges sweep,
Its lustre shall circle the brows of the brave;
Honour shall give it light,
Triumph shall keep it bright,
Long as in battle we meet on the wave.
From the grasp of Old England, the trident of war;
The beams of our stars have illumined the world,
Unfurl’d our standard beats proud in the air:
Wild glares the eagle’s eye,
Swift as he cuts the sky,
Marking the wake where our heroes advance;
Compass’d with rays of light,
Hovers he o’er the fight;
Albion is heartless, and stoops to his glance.