THE AMERICAN TIMES
by Jonathan Odell (1780)
Jonathan Odell was one of the best educated men in the colonies at the time of the Revolution.
A physician turned Anglican minister turned writer, he was appointed chaplain of the First Battalion of Pennsylvania Loyalists,
maintained close ties with the British high command, and was deeply involved in the treason of Benedict Arnold.
Odell wrote many verses for the "Royal Gazzette" in the British stronghold of New York City. "The American Times" is one of his best known.
It illustrates very well the anger loyalists felt toward their former neighbors as well as frustration with the British war effort.
Here are a few excerpts.
When Faction, pois'nous as the scorpion's sting,
Infects the people and insults the King;
When foul Sedition skulks no more concealed,
But grasps the sword and rushes to the field;
When Justice, Law, and Truth are in disgrace,
And Treason, Fraud, and Murder fill their place;
Smarting beneath accumulated woes,
Shall we not dare the tyrants to expose?
Bad are the Times, almost too bad to paint;
The whole head sickens, the whole heart is faint;
The State is rotten, rotten to the core,
'Tis all one bruize, one putrefying sore.
Hear thy indictment, Washington, at large;
Attend and listen to the solemn charge;
Thou hast supported an atrocious cause
Against thy King, thy Country, and the laws;
Committed perjury, encourag'd lies,
Forced conscience, broken the most sacred ties;
Myriads of wives and fathers at thy hand
Their slaughter'd husbands, slaughter'd sons demand;
That pastures hear no more the lowing kine,--
That towns are desolate, all -- all is thine.
I swear by Him, who rules the earth and sky,
The dread event shall equally apply;
That Clinton's warfare is the war of God,
And Washington shall feel the vengeful rod.
O! may that hour be soon! for pity's sake,
Genius of Britain, from thy slumber wake,
Too long has mercy spoke, but spoke in vain;
Let justice now in awful terror reign.
Topic: Loyalist and British songs of the 1770s - Part 3 (Read 1595 times)