Sir John Moore (1761-1809) was a British general.
His last engagement was at the head of the British
forces in Spain, fighting against Napoleon. Upon
word that Napoleon with an army of 70,000 was
marching against him, he decided to make for the
coast with his 25,000 men. They were obliged to
march for 250 miles over slippery mountain roads,
and were forced into battle before they could
embark. The French were repulsed with heavy losses,
but Moore was fatally wounded. This fine poem
describes his burial on that foreign shore.
Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note,
As his corse to the ramparts we hurried;
Not a soldier discharged his farewell shot
O'er the grave where our hero we buried.
We buried him darkly at dead of night, 5
The sods with our bayonets turning,
By the struggling moonbeam's misty light,
And the lantern dimly burning.
No useless coffin inclosed his breast,
Not in sheet or in shroud we wound him; 10
But he lay like a warrior taking his rest
With his martial cloak around him.
Few and short were the prayers we said,
And we spoke not a word of sorrow;
But we steadfastly gazed on the face of the dead, 15
And we bitterly thought of the morrow.
We thought, as we hollowed his narrow bed
And smoothed down his lonely pillow,
That the foe and the stranger would tread o'er his head.
And we far away on the billow.
Lightly they'll talk of the spirit that's gone, 5
And o'er his cold ashes upbraid him;
But little he'll reck, if they let him sleep on,
In the grave where a Briton has laid him.
But half of our heavy task was done
When the bell tolled the hour for retiring; 10
And we heard the distant and random gun
That the foe was sullenly firing.
Slowly and sadly we laid him down,
From the field of his fame fresh and gory;
We carved not a line, and we raised not a stone, 15
But we left him alone with his glory!
1. Give synonyms for: corse, ramparts, martial,
upbraid, tolled, reck, gory, random.
2. Describe this simple burial in your own words.
What are the customary rites at a soldier's burial?
Why did Sir John Moore not receive a military
funeral?
3. Compare this burial with the one described on
page 329.
4. Report briefly on Napoleon: who he was, what he
did, and what finally became of him.
5. Memorize the poem. Time yourself to see how
quickly you can do this.