"Washington Crossing the Delaware" [1847]
[Lith. of J. Britten 559 Hudson St N. Y.]
A New Quartette.
music composed by
C[harles]. Zuener. [1795-1857]
Poetry by
Seba Smith
Composed for, and sung with great effect by,
The Ilseys.

[Price 50 Cs]
Published by C. Holt, Jr. Music Publishing Warehouse
  156 Fulton St., N.Y.
G. W. Ackerman Engr. & Prinr.
[Source: 003/118@Levy]

1. Dark and gloomy was the hour,
  And freedom’s fire’s burnt low
For twenty days had Washington
  Retreated from the foe;
And his weary soldier’s feet were bare
As he fled across the Delaware.

2. Hearts were fainting thro’ the land,
  And patriot blood ran cold;
The strken army scarce retain’d
  Two thousand men, all told,
While British arms gleamed every where
From the Hudson to the Delaware.

3. Cold and stormy came the night;
  The great chief rous’d his men;
Now, up, brave comrades,
  Up and strike for freedom once again
For the lion sleepeth in its lair,
On the left bank of the Delaware.

4. By the darkling river’s side
  Beneath a wintry sky,
From that weak band forlorn and few,
  Went up the patriot cry,
O land of freedom, ne’er despair,
We’ll die or cross the Delaware.

5. How the strong oars dash the ice,
 Amid the tempest’s roar!
And how the trumpet voice of Knox
  Still cheers them to the shore!
Thus in the freezing midnight air
Those brave hearts cross’d the Delaware.

6. In the morning gray and dim,
  The shout of battle rose;
The chief led back his valient men
  With a thousand captive foes,
While Trenton shook with the cannon’s blare,
That told the news o’er the Delaware.