SALTIRE
by Ellin Anderson
It’s the Cross of great St. Andrew, who was martyred on its bars,
And it bears a favored land’s celestial crown of thirteen stars,
To raise courage in a Scottish heart, wherever it may be –
Will you tell your sons and daughters that we fought to make them free?
It was in the crimson gloaming that we left the western shore,
And said farewell to the Highlands, memory’s font forevermore,
Sailing forth to save a nation from the sword of tyranny –
Will you tell your sons and daughters that we fought to make them free?
In the Carolina dawn, I saw it raised upon the quay
Where I traded my old tartan for a suit of battle gray,
And saluted my new standard, and its pledge of chivalry –
Will you tell your sons and daughters that we fought to make them free?
There’s a general called Stuart, like our gallant Cavalier,
And the great commander Robert, like our King who knew no fear;
On their faces, I see glory, in their names a prophecy –
Will you tell your sons and daughters that we fought to make them free?
When the chain of the usurer binds the black man and the white,
When there’s none left to undo it, or to speak for what is right,
With America united in a state of slavery –
Will you tell your sons and daughters that we fought to make them free?
When the leering merchant mogul builds a kingdom with his gold
That will summon home the Serpent, just like Babylon of old,
When no woman keeps her virtue, nor no man his bravery –
Will you tell your sons and daughters that we fought to make them free?
As we marched towards the battle, I knew God would understand
That our victory today will chart the future of our land;
On these green and quiet hills, I see the hand of destiny –
Will you tell your sons and daughters that we fought to make them free?
Though the northern tyrant wears a crown of fame upon his head,
Yet the coming generations will revile his name instead,
For the shame of brother’s slaughter, in the fight for liberty –
Will you tell your sons and daughters that we fought to make them free?
When the Union rifles met us with a sheet of scarlet flame,
And our shattered bodies answered with a deluge of the same,
Still the Saltire fluttered bravely, as it does beyond the sea –
Will you tell your sons and daughters that we fought to make them free?
With the courage of conviction that the righteous never fail,
The self-righteous and the arrogant will see their might prevail,
But beneath the cannon’s triumph, you may hear the last of me –
Will you tell your sons and daughters that I fought to make them free?
Copyright 2007 by Ellin Anderson, Confederate Great-Grandniece
Author’s homepage can be visited here.
