Talk:Arnold expedition

I just stumbled upon this site (Wikipedia) and thought to see what kind of stuff was here. I plugged in Daniel Morgan and found this article on the Arnold Expedition. I have always been fascinated by that trek and have written lyrics that someday may get a tune to accompany them. Anyway, here are the lyrics (mostly factual). If anybody wants to add verses or write music, that would be cool. Wayne

The Height of Land

You can’t row bateaux up the slopes that go to the bitter hard Height of Land. You can’t take a citadel when you’re outgunned, outfed,  outmanned. You can’t win a whole damned continent when you’re so starved you can’t stand. But as I breathe I swear, we came pretty near, pulling boats up the Height of Land.

My name’s John Joseph Henry and I’ll tell you all a tale about a hellish march we made to a battle bound to fail. Eleven hundred men we were who left from Gardinerstown and started up the Kennebec as the Autumn leaves fell down.

I was just a lad of 16 when we started on that trek through the wilderness with Arnold to the fortress of Quebec. Dan Morgan’s Rifles led the way, Virginians lean and true, who’d learn to eat their moccasins before the trip was through.

You can’t row bateaux up the slopes that go To the bitter hard Height of Land. You can’t take a citadel when you’re outgunned, outfed, outmanned. You can’t win a whole damned continent when you’re so starved you can’t stand. But as I breathe I swear, we came pretty near, pulling boats up the Height of Land.

The expedition’s orders were to travel by canoe, birchbark makes light carryin’, which we knew we’d have to do. But we got 400 pound bateaux, - pine barges, square and squat: their boards so green leaked like a screen and our rations turned to rot.

The Dead River ain’t that peaceful and its dead don’t leave a trace. It’s a journey made of misery at the 12 mile Carrying Place. To the Dead from the Kennebec it was 10 days of nothin’ good - of blood and sweat and pain to haul that goddamned worthless wood

You can’t row bateaux up the slopes that go to the bitter hard Height of Land. You can’t take a citadel when you’re outgunned, outfed, outmanned. You can’t win a whole damned continent when you’re so starved you can’t stand. But as I breathe I swear, we came pretty near, pulling boats up the Height of Land.

Now the Height of Land breaks the watershed of the Dead from the Chaudiere, and those hills aren’t made for boatin’ just one look makes it awful clear. And none of us was sailin’ men so we chuckled just to think that even if we stove our boats, none of ‘em would sink.

With buckskin wrapped around our hands we started up that hill. Many a bone was broke and many a crushed man lies there still. But we did our best and we made the crest and we cheered at his command, cried Arnold “Boys, that’s Canada. Leave your tears on the Height of Land.”

You can’t row bateaux up the slopes that go to the bitter hard Height of Land. You can’t take a citadel when you’re outgunned, outfed, outmanned. You can’t win a whole damned continent when you’re so starved you can’t stand. But as I breathe I swear, we came pretty near, pulling boats up the Height of Land.

Merge proposal
Is being discussed at Talk:Invasion of Canada (1775). Please discuss it there, so we can have all this in one place.