“GREENBACKS.”

20. October 2009 by admin.

The following was written across the back of one of those bills.

GREEN be thy back upon thee!
Thou pledge of happier days,
When bloody-handed treason
No more its head shall raise;
But still, from Maine to Texas,
The Stars and Stripes shall wave
O’er the hearts and homes of freemen,
Nor mock one fettered slave.

Pledge–of the people’s credit,
To carry on the war,
By furnishing the sinews
In a currency at par,
With cash enough left over,
When they’ve cancelled every note,
To buy half the thrones of Europe,
With the crowns tossed in to boot.

Pledge–to our buried fathers,
That sons of patriot sires,
On Freedom’s sacred altars,
Relight their glorious fires–
That fortune, life, and honor
To our country’s cause we give;
Fortune and life may perish,
Yet the Government shall live.

Pledge–to our unborn children,
That, free from blot or stain,
The flag hauled down at Sumter
Shall yet float free again;
And, cleansed from foul dishonor,
And rebaptized in blood,
Wave o’er the land forever,
To Freedom and to God!

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