An Appeal to the American People + 

When a dark and fearful strife + 

Raged around the nation’s life, + 

And the traitor plunged his steel + 

Where your quivering hearts could feel, + 

When your cause did need a friend, + 

We were faithful to the end. + 

When we stood with bated breath, + 

Facing fiery storms of death, + 

And the war-cloud, red with wrath, + 

Fiercely swept around our path, + 

Did our hearts with terror quail? + 

Or our courage ever fail? + 

When the captive, wanting bread, + 

Sought our poor and lowly shed, + 

And the bloodhounds missed his way, + 

Did we e’er his path betray? + 

Filled we not his heart with trust + 

As we shared with him our crust? + 

With your soldiers, side by side, + 

Helped we turn the battle’s tide, + 

Till o’er ocean, stream and shore, + 

Waved the rebel flag no more, + 

And above the rescued sod + 

Praises rose to freedom’s God. + 

But to-day the traitor stands + 

With the crimson on his hands, + 

Scowling ’neath his brow of hate, + 

On our weak and desolate, + 

With the blood-rust on the knife + 

Aimèd at the nation’s life. + 

Asking you to weakly yield + 

All we won upon the field, + 

To ignore, on land and flood, + 

All the offerings of our blood, + 

And to write above our slain + 

“They have fought and died in vain.” + 

To your manhood we appeal, + 

Lest the traitor’s iron heel + 

Grind and trample in the dust + 

All our new-born hope and trust, + 

And the name of freedom be + 

Linked with bitter mockery. + 