’Twas here repos’d for months He lay
As Hannibal in Capua,
Ingloriously his station kept,
And spite of all opponents — slept:
But always took sufficient care
Not to conclude a “ruinous war,”
Not to employ his country’s friends,
Not to defeat his Party’s Ends,
Not to or’eturn th’ Usurper’s throne,
And not — to conquer Washington.
Washington, at his friend’s devotion,
And near to watch his every motion,
A ragged Regiment employs
(To rob, or starve, their only choice)
And daily sends them forth to plunder
And keep the harass’d Country under,
Make every Loyalist their prey,
Imprison, brand, and tear and slay,
Beseige, and cut the General short,
Nine months shut up within his fort.
The suffering Loyalists complain,
The Poor opprest cry out in vain,
And faithful multitudes attend
For leave their Country to defend,
For arms the Spoilers to repel
Their cruel foes implacable,
T’ assert their injur’d Sovereign’s right
In his, and England’s Cause to fight
Till all shoud sheath the civil sword,
And all rejoice in peace restor’d.
To doubt their faith the Chief affects,
Their needless services rejects,
Unwilling his own sloth shoud be
Compar’d with their activity,
He will not therefore give consent
To raising of a regiment
Yet rashly in an evil day
Intrusts a troop to Galloway?
Whose loyalty too warmly glows
While busy to infest the foes,
To vex and harass and distress,
Their persons and their prey to seize,
On every side his blows to deal;
He never loiters, or sits still,
Till all th’ inactive General blame,
And fancy, He might do the same.
The General his own ease prefers
To idle skirmishes, and wars,
Plenty and peace at home maintains,
And leaves his Foe the martial pains
Suffers him for himself to carve,
And live by pillaging, or starve,
As a gaunt wolf, by day and night
To keep the country in a fright,
To whip, or hang the countrymen,
And then slink back into his den.
How can th’ indignant Muse forbear
The different Leaders to compare?
One in the softn’ng Town she sees
Dissolv’d in luxury and ease,
With fulness of superfluous bread,
With choicest delicacies fed,
Suffering his friends to fall opprest
And die for furnishing the feast
The other self-supported Chief
Without supply, without relief,
Demands an enemy’s applause
So worthy of a nobler cause:
The Lord of an unconquer’d mind,
Can in himself resources find,
(What present times will scarce conceive,
Or late posterity believe)
Can raise an army with his foot,
Or build a camp out of an hut,
Repelling at each gaping flaw
The wintry blast with mud and straw.
Behold him with his burrough’d host
Four thousand feeble men at most,
Whose numbers every hour decrease
Reduc’d by famine and disease,
That starv’d, and sick, and dying lie
Expos’d to the inclement sky,
The sharpest frost for months sustain
The billowing snow, and pouring rain,
As nothing coud their courage quel
Who pain and want disdain’d to feel.
Now let us his strong Camp survey!
Around it an Entrenchment lay,
The ditch, to tempt a desperate leap,
Was six feet broad, and three feet deep,
The battering cannon to defy,
The mound no less than four feet high:
A precipice secur’d his rear,
The river and the bridge were near;
Level the front appear’d in sight,
Alike accessible the right;
And Howe a few miles off was seen
Safe with his twice ten thousand men.
The men of war, and loyalty
Expected every day to see
The Camp assaulted, or beset
With Howe’s inevitable Net;
In such a dangerous position
The Camp, in such a weak condition
The men, by rapid Sickness wasting,
By hundreds from their colors hasting,
Nor coud they shun destruction nigh
Unable to resist, or fly.
But Howe, persisting in his plan,
In peace permits them to remain:
For why shoud he the Naked scourge
To death, or desperation urge,
Or in their tents the wretches seize
Half dead thro’ hunger and disease?
He might indeed their Chief or’ethrow
And crush him by a parting blow,
Or taking captive all his host
Redeem our fame and army lost;
But for Six months the task refus’d,
And chose at last—to be excus’d!
Soldiers and Colonists exclaim
The indolent Commander blame,
But fixt in his resolve is He
Not to accept of victory:
Who having thrown 9 months away,
Finding he coud no more delay,
But whatsoe’er his friends it cost,
Conquer th’ Americans he must,
And conquer them against his will
His country’s Orders to fulfil;
Seeing alas, he cannot please
With all his faithful services,
Seeing his word is not regarded,
Nor yet his worthiest friends rewarded
He humbly sues for his dismission,
And leaves us in a worse condition
After so many battles won,
Than when the war was first begun.
Before he went, the City pray’d
In vain, for leave themselves to aid,
For arms, depriv’d of his assistance,
To keep the rebels at a distance,
His friends without defence he leaves,
As victims to the Congress gives,
Sure, as the foe’s return they see,
To die for their fidelity.
What now has our great Captain done?
Wilfully lost whate’er he won,
Done to his friends as little good,
And as much mischief, as he coud;
Our army and their Chief forsook,
And made them pass beneath the yoke;
(Branding us with eternal shame)
Blown up the spark into a flame:
The Loyalists alone subdued,
And prodigal of British blood,
Wasted our lives with wanton pleasure,
And twenty millions of our treasure:
His Sovereign basely disobey’d,
His trust perfidiously betray’d;
His country sold; his duty slighted;
The Colonies with France united;
Made our amazing Efforts vain;
Imbroil’d us both with France and Spain
Gain’d his own Party the ascendant,
And made AMERICA INDEPENDENT!