Liberty's Torch Poem by John F. McCullagh

In New York Harbor, long ago,
The prison ships rode upon the tide.
Ten thousand Patriots crammed aboard,
Starved, abandoned, and left to die.
They sacrificed sweet life you see
So we might enjoy Liberty.

When the Philadelphia ran aground,
hard by the shores of Tripoli.
We sent Marines to fire the ship
That she not fall to piracy.

Again upon Saint Mary's Heights
at Fredericksburg, a sight to see.
Ten Thousand Union casualties:
white men dying to set blacks free.

Can you recall the names of those
who did not want to live forever?
They died in France in the Great War, .
the one that would end wars forever.

From age to age, from Gen to Gen
From falling hands the torch is passed.
It is now ours to hold on high
Let not the flame of Liberty die.

Tyranny and ignorance
And the darkest superstition
Oppose the light of Liberty
and would make this Earth a prison.

We must be ever vigilant,
despite the World's derision.
For if the light of Liberty dies,
Our faults won't be forgiven.