“The Soldier of Sebastopol”
By William Holloway, Rye. Published in the South-Eastern Advertiser, Oct 12th, 1855.
“I climbed the rocky Alma’s height,
And I was present at the fight;
I saw the Guardmen charge the foe,
Saw streams of courage also flow;
Heard Royal Cambridge cheer his men,
Then saw them charge the foe again;
Beheld the routed Russians fly,
And heard the shouts of victory.
Chorus
They fought like heroes, great and small,
But I have seen what crowns it all,
The taking of Sebastopol.
For I was there; yes, I was there,
At taking of Sebastopol.
“I witnessed Balaklava’s fray,
(A ne’er to be forgotten day),
Where Scotchmen nobly led the van,
And then came dashing Cardigan,
Resolved to die ere he would run,
Charged to the muzzle of the gun
While Russian foemen could but gaze,
On chivalry of ancient days.
They fought like heroes great and small,
But I have seen what crowns it all,
For I was there; yes, I was there,
At taking of Sebastopol.
“Dark hung the heavy mists at night,
Enshrouding e’en the morning light,
When hark! the Russian cannons booming!
See muskets flashing through the glooming!
This is the fight of Inkermann,
Fought hand to hand and man to man.
Though chieftains mingled in the fray,
The soldiers won the palm that day.
They fought like heroes, great and small,
But I have seen what crowns it all,
The taking of Sebastopol.
For I was there; yes, I was there,
At taking of Sebastopol.
-
