War with England
RECEIVING and in store,
Grass and cotton rope,
Iron, nails, and castings,
Gate, door and table hinges,
Axes, grub and weeding hoes.
Carpenter’s tools, letter presses,
Blacksmith’s tools, extra oven lids,
Ox, fifth, tongue, breast, stretcher,
And trace chains, plows and sliders,
Wagon-boxes, chain-pumps
Grindstones, and
Cook and office stoves,
Lead, powder, shot and percussion caps,
Haines, collars, bridles, saddles,
Cotton, wool and Jim crow cards.
Coffee, sugar, molasses, salt,
Rice, tea, soda, starch, candles,
Spice, ginger, peper, whisky,
Brandy, madeira and port wine.
Brown and bleached domestic,
Hoop-skirts, needles, pins,
Combs, brushes, spun-thread,
Boots, shoes, hats, caps and clothing,
And a general stock of
Title:War with England
Author:Unknown
Publication:Dallas Herald
Published in:Dallas
Date:November 20th 1861
Commentary
This poem, readable only as a fragment in the publication we viewed, is a fascinating example of a ‘list poem’. As a piece published in the secessionist South it appears to be making the case for political independence by detailing economic self-sufficiency in the form of a hardware store stock-take or inventory. Part of the justification for the objective of secession was based on the South’s ability to trade independently through the goods it produced within its own territories. This, of course, included cotton. – SR