She mingled with its gorgeous dyes
The milky baldric of the skies,
And striped its pure celestial white

With streakings of the morning light;

Then, from his mansion in the sun,

She called her eagle-bearer down,
And gave into his mighty hand
The symbol of her chosen land!

Majestic monarch of the cloud

Who rear'st aloft thy regal form, To hear the tempest trumping loud And see the lightning lances driven,

When strive the warriors of the storm, And rolls the thunder drum of heaven, Child of the sun! to thee 'tis given

To guard the banner of the free;
To hover in the sulphur smoke,
To ward away the battle stroke;
And bid its blendings shine afar,
Like rainbows on the cloud of war-
The harbinger of victory!

Flag of the brave! thy folds shall fly,
The sign of hope and triumph high,
When speaks the signal trumpet tone,
And the long line comes gleaming on,
(Ere yet the life-blood, warm and wet,
Hath dimmed the glittering bayonet,)
Each soldier's eye shall brightly turn
To where thy sky-born giories burn,

And, as his springing steps advance,
Catch war and vengeance from the glance;
And when the cannon's mouthings loud
Heave in wild wreaths the battle shroud,
And gory sabres rise and fall,

Like shoots of flame on midnight's pall;
Then shall thy meteor glances glow,

And cowering foes shall shrink beneath

Each gallant arm that strikes below

That lovely messenger of death.

Flag of the seas! on ocean wave
Thy stars shall glitter o'er the brave,
When death, careering on the gale,
Sweeps darkly round the bellied sail,
And frightened waves rush wildly back,
Before the broadside's reeling rack,
Each dying wanderer of the sea,

Shall look at once to heaven and thee,
And smile to see thy splendor fly,

In triumph o'er his closing eye.

Flag of the free, heart's hope and home !

By angel hands to valor given;

Thy stars have lit the welkin dome,

And all thy hues were born in heaven! Forever float that standard sheet!

Where breathes the foe but falls before us? With Freedom's soil beneath our feet,

And Freedom's banner streaming o'er us?

IMPORTANT EVENTS OF THE REBELLION.

For a Chronology of Battles, see page 280.

1859.

Oct. 16. John Brown and fifteen white men and five negroes seize the arsenal at Harper's Ferry, and kill four of the inhabitants.

Oct. 17. The militia and Federal troops besiege Brown and his men in the armory.

Oct. 18. The armory captured by Colonel R. E. Lee (now General). Twelve of Brown's men killed. Brown and four men taken prisoners.

Nov. 30. South Carolina Legislature offer resolutions, that she is ready to enter with other States into the formation of a Southern Confederacy.

Dec. 2. John Brown and two negroes hung at Charlestown, Va.

1860.

April 23. The Democratic National Convention assemble at Charleston, S. C., and adjourn to meet at Baltimore, June 18. The Southern Delegates secede, and meet at same time and place.

May 9. The Constitutional Union Convention meet at Balti

more, and nominate John Bell for President, and Edward Everett for Vice-President.

May 18. The Republican Convention at Chicago nominate Abraham Lincoln for President, and Hannibal Hamlin for Vice-President.

June 23. The National Democratic Convention at Baltimore nominate Douglas and Fitzpatrick. The Seceders nominate Breckinridge and Lane.

Dec. 5. The U. S. Treasury suspends specie payment.
"20. South Carolina “Ordinance of Secession" passed.

"21. Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, withdraws from the

U. S. Senate.

"29. Secretary Dix's despatch to New Orleans, "If any one attempts to haul down the American flag, shoot him on the spot."

Feb. 1. Texas Ordinance of Secession passed.

9. Jefferson Davis and A. H. Stephens elected President and Vice-President of the Southern Confederacy by the Convention at Montgomery, Ala.

April 12. Bombardment of Fort Sumter-the first gun fired of the Rebellion—“nobody hurt.”

15. President Lincoln calls for 75,000 three months' volunteers.

April 16. Virginia "Ordinance of Secession" passed in secret

،

session.

16. N. Y. Legislature appropriates $3,000,000 for war purposes.

17. Jefferson Davis grants letters of marque.

19. Sixth Massachusetts Regiment mobbed in Baltimore while en route to Washington.

،، 19. President Lincoln orders the blockade of Southern

،،

ports.

26. Governor Brown, of Georgia, by proclamation, prohibits the payment of all debts to Northern creditors till the end of hostilities.

May 6. Arkansas "Ordinance of Secession" passed.

"24. Colonel Ellsworth shot at Alexandria, Va. "30. Secretary Cameron declares slaves contraband of war.

June 3. Hon. S. A. Douglas died at Chicago. His dying message to his son was, "Tell them to obey the laws, and support the Constitution of the U. S."

66

8. The Sanitary Commission authorized and appointed by the Government.

24. Tennessee secedes by a vote of 104,913 for, and 32,134 against.

July 8. $5,000,000 loaned the Government in five hours by N. Y. merchants.

10. President Lincoln calls for 500,000 volunteers.

Aug. 14. All Union men notified by Jefferson Davis to leave

the Confederate States in forty days.

16. The President issues a proclamation confiscating rebel property.

Nov. 8. Captain Wilkes, of the U. S. steamer San Jacinto.