"On to Richmond," Poem, undated
On to Richmond
 
Give attention to my song, I'me afraid its rather long
            Of the famous on to Richmond double shuffle
Of the half a dozen axes and a half a dozen picks
            And the very latest bursting of the bubble;
Then list while I relate, the most unhappy fate,
            Tis a dreadful knotty puzzle to unravel
But the Yankees always swore, when they reached Virginia's shore
            That Richmond was an easy road to travel.
 
First McDowell bold and gay, set forth the shortest way
            By Manasses in pleasant summer weather.
But He quicly turned about & took another route,
            And He has a rocky journey altogether.
For He found it rather hard to ride o'er Beauregard
            And that Johnson was a devel of a bother,
And 'twas plainly to a doubt, that he did not like the route
            And thought that He had better try another.
 
Then the great Galena came with Her portholes all aflame
            And the Monitor that famous naval wonder,
But the Guns at Drewry's Bluff, gave them splendedly enough
            The loudest sort of real Rebel Thunder.
The Galena was admonished astonished the Monitor admonished,
            And Her efforts to attend ascend the stream were mocked at,
While the dreadful Nagatuck, with the hardest kind of luck
            Was very nearly knocked into a cocked Hat
 
Next came the wooly Horse, with an overwhelming force
            To march down to Richmond by the Valley
But He couldn't find the road & His onward movement showed
            His Campaigning was a mere Shilly Shally.
Then came Commissary Banks, with his foreign motley Ranks
            The Dutchman, the Celt, and the Saxon,
Lost all of His supplies and with tears in His eyes,
            Ran away from the dunder headed Jackson.
 
Next McClellan followed soon, with spade & with Baloon,
            To try the Peninsular approches
But one and all agreed that His fastest rate of speed
            Was not faster than the slowest of slow Coaches.
Instead of easy ground at Williamsburg He found
            A Longstreet, indeed and nothing shorter,
And it put Him in the dumps, to find spades was not Trumps
            And the Hill (Malvern) He couldn't level as He ought to. /
 
He tried the Rebel lines, on the field of seven Pines
            Where His troops did so much heavy charging
But He floundered in the mud, and saw a stream of Blood
            On the Chickahominy's sweet Margin;
The facts seem rather strange, when from His Gun Boats Range
            On Land He drifted over-much to Leeward
So He quickly changed His base to a sort of steeple chase
            And hurried back to Stanton, Abe, and Seward.
 
Then says Lincoln unto Pope, you can make the trip I hope
            Says the Braggart Maj. Genl that I can,
He began to issue orders, to his terrible Marauders,
            Just like another See of Vatican.
But the same determined Jackson that this braggart laid his whacks on
            And made Him by compulsion a seceder.
When Pope took a rapid flight from Manasses 2d fight
            It was his last appearance as a leader
 
Then came Burnside, who with Pontoon Bridges tried
            A road no one had thought before Him,
With 3 hundred thousand Men, for a Rebel slaughter pen
            With his blessed Union Flag floating o'er Him. /
But He found a fire of Hell, of cannister & shell,
            Twas enough to make the knees of any man knock
Twas a shocking sight to view, a second Waterloo,
            On the banks of the pleasant Rappahanock.
 
We are very much perplexed to know who will try next
            And to know by what high road he'l go
Then Washington must blaze & that in 90 days
            For tis written Delenda est Carthage (Cartho)
We'll take the cussed Town, and we will burn it down,
            And wel hang up every Yankee Rebel,
Sure the Contraband was right when he told us they would fight
            Dem Yanks dey will fight like the Debel.
 
Pull of your Coat, Roll up your sleave
            For Richmond is a hard road to travel
You cant get into Petersburg tis plainly you are shamed
            And Richmond is a harder road to travel
Ill Be Damed.
15175
DATABASE CONTENT
(15175)DL1605.063Other186X

Tags: Abraham Lincoln, Ambrose Burnside, Animals, Battle of Seven Pines, Clothing, Fall of Richmond, Fighting, George B. McClellan, German Americans, Guns, Irish Americans, James Longstreet, Marching, Nature, P. G. T. Beauregard, "Rebels" (Unionist opinions of), Second Battle of Bull Run, Ships/Boats, Siege of Petersburg, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, Weather, "Yankees" (Confederate opinions of)

People - Records: 1

  • (3685) [associated with] ~ Tarlton, Stephen B.
SOURCES

"On to Richmond," Poem, undated, DL1605.063, Nau Collection