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WAR HEROES AND WOES

Now, with troops beaten back by Canadian hands,

And with Indian warriors now making fierce stands,

With our capital city in flames and despair,

The once glory-filled dreams now seemed a nightmare!

As the red-coats were hot to go settle a score,

And pressed on to the north to reach Baltimore.

They shelled Fort McHenry with bombs through the night

-- Only to find by the dawn’s early light

That those colors so bold --- yes, the red, white and blue,

Like the sun in the sky still gallantly flew.

Hence a poem that begins “O Say Can You See”

Was penned that morning by one Francis Scott Key.

Yes, this land of the free our soldiers did save,

To earn that moniker: the home of the brave.

And Henry Harrison proved true when we most needed wins,

As he triumphed once more at the Battle of Thames.

Where great Tecumseh did fall, and took with him the heart

Of the Indian cause, which quite soon came apart.

-- While deep in the south, where a tribe of Creek battled,

There rose a great leader who had every soul rattled.

A young Tennessee man, most bold and assured,

Brought a will of wrought iron with his pistol and sword.

Indeed, Andrew Jackson was as tough as hard nails,

And scattered his foes through the forests and dales.

Whose stunning campaign brought native wars to an end,

With the most bloody of battles at Horseshoe Bend.

-- Alas, the Cherokee tribes did help in the action,

Fighting by the side of mighty General Jackson...

An act they’d regret some years later on

When the same Mister Jackson told them to be gone!

But with spirits now high, with great hollers and grins,

Jackson rallied his men to go take New Orleans...