Lot 157
Randall, James R (1839 -1908) American journalist and poet, best remembered as the author of "Maryland, My Maryland." The nine-stanza poem was written by Randall in 1861 as a call for the South to fight the Union. It refers to President Lincoln as a "tyrant," "despot," and "Vandal," and to the Union as "Northern scum." It also uses the phrase "sic semper," [thus always] which was shouted by Marylander John Wilkes Booth while assassinating Lincoln. The poem was set to the tune of "Lauriger Horatius" ("O Tannenbaum") and was used as a battle hymn by the South during the Civil War. In 1939, the song was adopted by Maryland's state assembly as the state song.
Autograph quotation signed "James R. Randall," being the seventh stanza of his poem "Maryland, My Maryland," one page, 7 x 7¾ in., no date. Written on the verso of letterhead of The Augusta Chronicle, the stanza reads:
"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!"
Estimated Value $500 - 800.
Ex William "Bill" Steiner Collection, Smythe, June 6, 1996, lot 49.
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