ODE TO THE C.S.S. FLORIDA
By: Ron Hamilton

As I sit and watch the ocean
and listen to waves that roar
My mind begins to wander
to our ancestors of yore.

I see gallant Southern kinsmen
in a distant gleam of light
Their response to Yankee tyranny?
stand your ground and fight!

The Southern men fought bravely
of that there is no doubt
Yankees turned-tail and skedaddled
for many it was a rout.

The Yankees then decided
Southern valor would not fade
The South’s commerce must be strangled
impose a naval blockade.

Secretary of the Navy Mallory responded
we will break the blockade - without a doubt
The Confederacy will use its ships-of-the-line
swift,armed and courageous - ready to rout.

One ship-of-the-line stands out
the very best of its kind
The C.S.S. Florida
fitted with one thought in mind.

Commissioned in the Bahamas
in August of 1862
She ran the blockade at Mobile
with Captain Maffitt’s resolve to get through.

C.S.S. Florida escaped from Mobile
twas January 1863
She began her voyages as a ‘Raider’
the terror of the sea.

Many were the conquests of the C.S.S. Florida
her Confederate Ensign flew with pride
Countless were the Yankee vessels
that were sunk or ran to hide.

I feel the rushing water
of the breaking ocean wave
My mind returns to the present time
with thoughts of sailors brave.

I salute the C.S.S. Florida
and pledge to remember her deeds
In memory of the brave officers and men
who served so nobly,a nation in need.