The Irrepressible Conflict
Tyrtæus — Charleston Mercury
Then welcome be it, if indeed it be
The Irrepressible Conflict! Let it come;
There will be mitigation of the doom,
If, battling to the last, our sires shall see
Their sons contending for the homes made free
In ancient conflict with the foreign foe!
If those who call us brethren strike the blow,
No common conflict shall the invader know!
War to the knife, and to the last, until
The sacred land we keep shall overflow
With blood as sacred—valley, wave, and hill,
Or the last enemy finds his bloody grave!
Aye, welcome to your graves—or ours! The brave
May perish, but ye shall not bind one slave.