[BYVANCK, Peter.] Manuscript poem, "A New Song," Horseneck, 1777.

One page, 328 x 205mm (a few small tears at the centerfolds, two small dampstains, two mounting remnants on verso.) Docketed "A Song by Doct. Byvanck, Horseneck, Sept. 1777" on the verso.

A patriotic song from the American Revolution praising the virtues of George Washington attributed to Peter Byvanck, member of a prominent New York City mercantile family who appears to had taken refuge in Horseneck, New Jersey following the British capture of the city in September 1776. Written in September 1777, the song offers praise for Washington at a very critical point in the war, just as the British were taking Philadelphia after the Battle of Brandywine on 11 September 1777.

"Let the Trumpet of Fame raise its shrill notes on high / While the Winds on their Wings the bold accents convey
/ Of great Washington's name: let the Nations reply, / & Honour to the Sun wide in Banners display…. "

Published in John Austin Stevens, ed., The Magazine of American History with Notes and Queries. New York: A.S. Barnes, 1877.