"The hope of Democracy depends on the diffusion of knowledge and wisdom."
-- Dr. Edmund J. James, 4th President of the University of Illinois (1904-1920)
“Columbia the
Gem of the Ocean” (1843)
By David T.
Shaw & Thomas A. Becket, Sr.
Editor’s Note:
This patriotic song served as an unofficial national anthem for the United
States until 1931. It was especially popular during the Civil War Era
(1861-1865).
1. O Columbia! the
gem of the ocean,
The home of the
brave and the free,
The shrine of each
patriot’s devotion,
A world offers
homage to thee;
Thy mandates make
heroes assemble,
When Liberty’s
form stands in view;
Thy banners make
tyranny tremble,
When borne by the
red, white, and blue.
When borne by the
red, white, and blue,
When borne by the
red, white, and blue,
Thy banners make
tyranny tremble,
When borne by the
red, white and blue.
2. When war winged
its wide desolation,
And threatened the
land to deform,
The ark then of
freedom’s foundation,
Columbia rode safe
through the storm;
With her garlands
of victory around her,
When so proudly
she bore her brave crew;
With her flag
proudly waving before her,
The boast of the
red, white and blue.
The boast of the
red, white and blue,
The boast of the
red, white, and blue,
With her flag
proudly floating before her,
The boast of the
red, white and blue.
3. The Union, the
Union forever,
Our glorious
nation’s sweet hymn,
May the wreaths it
has won never wither,
Nor the stars of
its glory grow dim,
May the service
united never sever,
But they to their
colors prove true.
The Army and Navy
forever,
Three cheers for
the red, white, and blue.
Three cheers for
the red, white, and blue,
Three cheers for
the red, white, and blue,
The Army and Navy
forever,
Three cheers for
the red, white and blue.
In this patriotic depiction for the 4th of July, the Editor has portrayed Lady Columbia -- a symbol of the sovereignty of the USA -- in red, white, and blue robes, wearing a diadem on her head, to remind us that for the Founding Fathers and Mothers of our nation, "Lex Rex" (that's Latin for "The law is king." Lady Columbia holds aloft the Torch of Liberty with its perpetual flame of hope for the world, and in the background, we see a "shining city on a hill," from the vision of the first New England colonists nearly 400 years ago.
