1812–1871

Introduction

portrait

Born: Feb­ru­ary 12, 1812, Wood­stock, Con­nec­ti­cut.

Died: March 18, 1871, Brook­lyn, New York.

Buried: Green-Wood Ce­me­te­ry, Brook­lyn, New York.

Biography

Burleigh was an ac­tive re­form­er and mem­ber of the Uni­ta­ri­an de­no­mi­na­tion. In 1837, he went to Pitts­burgh, Penn­syl­van­ia, where, hav­ing been pre­vious­ly ap­pren­ticed in the print­ing trade, he pub­lished the Chris­tian Wit­ness and Tem­per­ance Ban­ner.

In 1843, he be­came ed­it­or of the Chris­tian Free­man at Hart­ford, Con­nec­ti­cut. From 1849–55, he was an agent of the New York State Tem­per­ance So­ci­ety. From 1855–70, he was Har­bor­mas­ter in New York Ci­ty.

Works

Burleigh con­trib­ut­ed po­ems and hymns to va­ri­ous pe­ri­od­icals and jour­nals. Ma­ny of these were col­lect­ed and pub­lished as Po­ems (Phi­la­del­phia, Penn­syl­van­ia: J. Mill­er McKim, 1841). This vol­ume was en­larged with ad­di­tion­al piec­es and re­pub­lished by Bur­leigh’s wi­dow in 1871.

Poem

War

The vulture hovers o’er the reeking plain,
Called to the feast of Death, by Glory spread—
A mingled mass of dying and of dead—
While cannons roar and trumpets shriek amain,
And fierce-eyed Havoc, drunk with human gore,
Yet reckless, sateless, yells in rage for more!
Shudder, oh Earth! and cover not thy slain—
Hide not their blood, which from the steaming sod,
Cries loud for retribution! Shall not God,
Ye chiefs, ye warriors—progeny of Cain—
Visit the lands for this? The widow’s cries
Witness against you—and the orphan’s shriek
Is heard in Hea­ven! Your hands with mur­der reek,
And God abhors your bloody sacrifice!

How long, oh Lord! how long shall Carnage reign,
And mad Ambition and demoniac Rage,
With sway despotic, o’er Thy heritage?
Shall dove-eyed Peace ne’er smile on man again?
Shall Justice frown, and Mercy plead, in vain,
While smokes the earth with blood, and rampart War
Crushes the Nations ’neath his iron car,
Gorging himself with hecatombs of slain?
Shall Truth be dumb, shall Virtue shrink, afraid
To pour rebuke upon the sons of Hell—
The fiends of Passion—who, with purpose fell,
Still drive in human blood their demon trade?
Forbid it, righteous God! assert Thy sway,
Till Earth shall hear Thy voice, and hearing shall obey!

William Henry Burleigh
Poems, 1841

Sources

Lyrics

  1. Abide Not in the Realm of Dreams
  2. Fades from the West the Fare­well Light
  3. Father, Be­neath Thy Shel­ter­ing Wing
  4. For the Dear Love That Kept Us
  5. From Pro­found­est Depths of Tri­bu­la­tion
  6. Lead Us, O Fa­ther
  7. Not in Vain I Poured My Sup­pli­ca­tion
  8. O Deem Not That Earth’s Crown­ing Bliss
  9. Still Will We Trust
  10. There Is a Beau­ti­ful Land by the Spoil­er Un­trod
  11. They Who Have Kept Their Spir­it’s Vir­gin White­ness
  12. Thou Who Look’st with Pi­ty­ing Eye
  13. Through the Chang­es of the Day
  14. We Ask Not That Our Path Be Al­ways Bright
  15. When Glad­ness Gilds Our Pros­per­ous Day