Posted on 09/03/2006 4:18:34 PM PDT by I'll be your Huckleberry
Can it survive?
In August the capital erupted with violence, death and flames.
In September the northern borders are largely secure but the issue of the country as a whole is in doubt, and there is even talk of dividing the Republic into spheres of influence.
Foreign fighters teamed with indigenous fighters are making the fall a "do or die" situation for this young Republic.
American resolve is strong but fading over the years with the deaths of its fine young men.
WHAT WILL SEPTEMBER BRING?
Will the latest offensive crush the American spirit and end this improbable experiment bought in blood?
In September a young man strained in the morning dawn to see that great symbol of American heart, and to know if all had been lost after three days of hard battle - or had his hope prevailed.
"As the sun began to rise, Key peered through the lifting darkness anxious to see if the flag they had seen the night before was still flying. And so it was that he scribbled on the back of an envelope the first lines of a poem he called Defense of Fort M'Henry:
O, say can you see, by the dawn's early light, What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming
As the mist started to clear he was aware that there was a flag flying - but was it the British flag? It was difficult to tell:
But finally the sun rose, and with intense relief and pride he saw that the fort had withstood the onslaught ...
'Tis the star-spangled banner - O long may it wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave."
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Never lose your heart
HUCK
Great piece. Thanks, Huck.
ping.
In Sept. of 1814 the Capitol had been burned by the British, and the situation looked very grim.
Huck
In the words of Winston Churchill, "Never Give Up".
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