The Cumberland by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
At Hampton Roads, the Cumberland's crew fires on an approaching iron enemy ship, but its shots rebound from the armor. Morris refuses to surrender, and the enemy crushes the Cumberland, sinking it. The next morning, its flag still flies at the masthead; the speaker mourns the dead and predicts that the nation's divided flag will be whole again.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · Genre: Narrative Poetry, War Poetry, Patriotic Poetry · 466 words
First lines
At anchor in Hampton Roads we lay, / On board of the cumberland, sloop-of-war; / And at times from the fortress across the bay / The alarum of drums swept past, / Or a bugle blast / From the camp on the shore.
Then far away to the south uprose / A little feather of snow-white smoke, / And we knew that the iron ship of our foes / Was steadily steering its course / To try the force / Of our ribs of oak.
Genres
- Narrative Poetry — Eight rhymed stanzas recount an enemy ship's approach, the exchange of fire, the refusal to surrender, and the Cumberland's sinking.
- War Poetry — The shipboard speaker describes naval combat, ineffective cannon fire against armor, and mourning for the sailors who die.
- Patriotic Poetry — The speaker honors the crew's refusal to strike its flag and predicts that the land's divided flag will become whole again.
Tags
naval warfare · ironclads · shipwreck · refusal to surrender · mourning · national unity
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The Cumberland is listed on Textopian as a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, dated Date unknown.
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- Work type: Poem
- Author: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Narrative Poetry, War Poetry, Patriotic Poetry
- Length: 466 words
- Structure: 1 section, 8 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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- Work identity for The Cumberland by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
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