[Rarebooks] fs: "The Depot's Heel is on Thy Shore..."

[Back Creek Books]

Greetings Booklovers,

We are pleased to offer:
~
(No. 7511 )  Randall, James Ryder. MARYLAND, MY MARYLAND AND OTHER POEMS.
Baltimore: John Murphy Company, (1908). First printing, Full cloth, 
Duodecimo, 180 pages, Frontispiece portrait. Fine.
     James Ryder Randall, a native Marylander, was a 22 year-old teacher 
living in New Orleans when the Civil War broke out in 1861. Like many 
Marylanders, his sympathies were with the South, and his inspiration for 
"Maryland, My Maryland" sprang from his outrage upon learning that Union 
troops had been marched through Baltimore en route to protect Washington at 
the outbreak of war, sparking a riot in which several civilians had been 
shot down. These verses were Randall's plea for Maryland to join the 
Confederacy and at all costs to deny Lincoln's call for troops. It is filled 
with historical references and contemporary allusions to the treachery of 
the North and of Lincoln in particular. Even so, Oliver Wendell Holmes later 
described the title poem as the greatest war song of any nation, and 
soldiers of both sides sang it during the war. The present offering is the 
poem's first appearance in book form. "Maryland, My Maryland" was declared 
the official state song in 1939. This collection includes many of Randall's 
other Civil War era poems, such as "The Battle Cry of the South," "Our 
Confederate Dead," "At Fort Pillow," "At Arlington," etc. Bound in dark blue 
cloth over boards with gilt stamped spine and upper board, blind-stamped 
border rules, top edge gilt. Slight extremity rubs. Gilt remains bright. 
$250.00
See photo: http://www.backcreekbooks.com/bookphotos/7511.jpg

And for those interested, here is Maryland's state song, including the 
stanzas you won't hear sung at the Preakness (which is most of them). It is 
pretty fantastic all right. See how many historical references you can 
identify:

        "Maryland, My Maryland"

I.
The despot's heel is on thy shore,
 Maryland!
His torch is at thy temple door,
 Maryland!
Avenge the patriotic gore
That flecked the streets of Baltimore,
And be the battle queen of yore,
 Maryland! My Maryland!

II.
Hark to an exiled son's appeal,
 Maryland!
My Mother State! to thee I kneel,
 Maryland!
For life or death, for woe or weal,
Thy peerless chivalry reveal,
And gird thy beauteous limbs with steel,
 Maryland! My Maryland!

III.
Thou wilt not cower in the dust,
 Maryland!
Thy beaming sword shall never rust,
 Maryland!
Remember Carroll's sacred trust,
Remember Howard's warlike thrust,-
And all thy slumberers with the just,
 Maryland! My Maryland!

IV.
Come! 'tis the red dawn of the day,
 Maryland!
Come with thy panoplied array,
 Maryland!
With Ringgold's spirit for the fray,
With Watson's blood at Monterey,
With fearless Lowe and dashing May,
 Maryland! My Maryland!

V.
Come! for thy shield is bright and strong,
 Maryland!
Come! for thy dalliance does thee wrong,
 Maryland!
Come to thine own anointed throng,
Stalking with Liberty along,
And sing thy dauntless slogan song,
 Maryland! My Maryland!

VI.
Dear Mother! burst the tyrant's chain,
 Maryland!
Virginia should not call in vain,
 Maryland!
She meets her sisters on the plain-
Sic semper! 'tis the proud refrain
That baffles minions back amain,
 Maryland!
Arise in majesty again,
 Maryland! My Maryland!

VII.
I see the blush upon thy cheek,
 Maryland!
For thou wast ever bravely meek,
 Maryland!
But lo! there surges forth a shriek,
>From hill to hill, from creek to creek,
Potomac calls to Chesapeake,
 Maryland! My Maryland!

VIII.
Thou wilt not yield the Vandal toll,
 Maryland!
Thou wilt not crook to his control,
 Maryland!
Better the fire upon thee roll, Better the shot, the blade, the bowl,
Than crucifixion of the Soul,
 Maryland! My Maryland!

IX.
I hear the distant thunder-hum,
 Maryland!
The Old Line bugle, fife, and drum,
 Maryland!
She is not dead, nor deaf, nor dumb-
Huzza! She spurns the Northern scum!
She breathes! She burns! She'll come! She'll come!
 Maryland! My Maryland!

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Terms:
All books fully guaranteed and returnable if not as described. Normal 
domestic shipping $5.00 for the first book, $1.25 each additional book or 
volume. Shipping charges for other carriers or international delivery quoted 
individually upon inquiry. Payment accepted by credit card (V,MC,Amex, 
Discover), check, money order, or PayPal.

Thank you for your interest.

Best regards,

Rock Toews
Back Creek Books
Post Office Box 3540, Annapolis, MD 21403, U.S.A.
Tel. 410-626-1363 or toll free 877-626-1363 -  Fax. 815-425-8542
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-- 
Military & Naval History, Americana, Nautical & Maritime, Marylandiana
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Today's featured book from our stock at the booksellers' cooperative, 
TomFolio.com:
 Temple, Wayne C.  'By Square and Compasses: The Building of Lincoln's Home 
and Its Saga (Signed).'
 Details and secure ordering: 
http://www.tomfolio.com/mall/backcreekbooks/bookdetails.asp?book=9326
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'The very ink with which all history is written is merely fluid 
prejudice.' - Mark Twain