Unknown
I.
At Bull Run when the sun was low,
Each Southern face grew pale as snow,
While loud as jackdaws rose the crow
Of Yankees boasting terribly!
II.
But Bull Run saw another sight,
When at the deepening shades of night,
Towards Fairfax Court-House rose the flight
Of Yankees running rapidly.
III.
Then broke each corps with terror riven,
Then rushed the steeds from battle driven,
The men of battery Number Seven
Forsook their Red artillery!
IV.
Still on McDowell’s farthest left,
The roar of cannon strikes one deaf,
Where furious Abe and fiery Jeff
Contend for death or victory.
V.
The panic thickens–off, ye brave!
Throw down your arms! your bacon save!
Waive, Washington, all scruples waive,
And fly, with all your chivalry!
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You may find this and other poems here.
Analysis (AI Assisted)
This poem is very different in tone from the mourning and lament in the earlier pieces. Instead of grief, it is filled with mockery, triumph, and ridicule. It celebrates the Confederate victory at the First Battle of Bull Run (also called First Manassas) and portrays Union forces as panicked and cowardly.
The poem works mainly through reversal. In the first stanza, Southern soldiers appear afraid. Their faces grow “pale as snow,” while Yankees boast loudly and confidently. This sets up an expectation that the Union army is strong and dominant. But in the second stanza, everything flips. Now it is the Yankees who are running, fleeing toward Fairfax Court House. The poem takes satisfaction in this sudden collapse of Union confidence.
Fear spreads rapidly in the third stanza. Military order dissolves. Horses bolt. Artillery is abandoned. The mention of “battery Number Seven” leaving its guns behind is meant to show not just retreat, but humiliation. Artillery was valuable and symbolic of strength. Abandoning it suggests complete loss of control.
The fourth stanza brings in symbolic leadership. “Furious Abe” refers to Abraham Lincoln, and “fiery Jeff” refers to Jefferson Davis. The poem presents them almost like mythic rivals, each representing his nation’s will. The reference to McDowell points to Irvin McDowell, the Union general who commanded at Bull Run and whose army ultimately retreated. By invoking these leaders, the poem connects individual panic on the battlefield to the larger national struggle.
The final stanza becomes openly sarcastic. It mocks the Union soldiers, telling them to throw down their weapons and save their bacon. The mention of Washington suggests that even the capital itself should abandon dignity and flee. The word “chivalry” here is ironic. Instead of brave knights, the Union forces are portrayed as dishonorable and afraid.
The tone throughout is aggressive and triumphant. There is no sympathy for the enemy, no acknowledgment of shared suffering. The purpose is propaganda as much as poetry. It reinforces Confederate morale by presenting their victory as decisive and humiliating for the North.
What is especially striking is how different this feels from the mourning poems you shared earlier. Those poems focus on sacrifice and grief. This one focuses on victory and ridicule. Together, they show two emotional sides of the same war: pride in triumph and sorrow in loss.