All hail to our glorious ensign! courage to the heart and
strength to the hand, to which, in all time, it shall be
intrusted! May it ever wave first in honor, in unsullied glory
and patriotic hope, on the dome of the Capitol, on the country's
stronghold, on the tented plain, on the wave-rocked topmast.
Wheresoever, on the earth's surface, the eye of the American
shall behold it, may he have reason to bless it! On whatsoever
spot it is planted, there may freedom have a foothold, humanity a
brave champion, and religion an altar. Though stained with blood
in a righteous cause, may it never, in any cause, be stained with
shame.
Alike when its gorgeous folds shall wanton in lazy holiday
triumphs on the summer breeze, and its tattered fragments be
dimly seen through the clouds of war, may it be the joy and pride
of the American heart. First raised in the cause of right and
liberty, in that cause alone may it forever spread out its
streaming blazonry to the battle and the storm. Having been borne
victoriously across a mighty continent, and floating in triumph
on every sea, may virtue, and freedom, and peace, forever follow
where it leads the way!