In Fourteen Hundred Ninety-two (In 1492)

In Fourteen Hundred Ninety-two (In 1492)is the first line of a well known poem about Columbus and his search for a western sea passage to the East. As rhymes do aid memory, this has helped many a child remember this famous date.












IN 1492

In fourteen hundred ninety-two
Columbus sailed the ocean blue.

He had three ships and left from Spain;
He sailed through sunshine, wind and rain.

He sailed by night; he sailed by day;
He used the stars to find his way.

A compass also helped him know
How to find the way to go.

Ninety sailors were on board;
Some men worked while others snored.

Then the workers went to sleep;
And others watched the ocean deep.

Day after day they looked for land;
They dreamed of trees and rocks and sand.

October 12 their dream came true,
You never saw a happier crew!

"Indians! Indians!" Columbus cried;
His heart was filled with joyful pride.

But "India" the land was not;
It was the Bahamas, and it was hot.

The Arakawa natives were very nice;
They gave the sailors food and spice.

Columbus sailed on to find some gold
To bring back home, as he'd been told.

He made the trip again and again,
Trading gold to bring to Spain.

The first American? No, not quite.
But Columbus was brave, and he was bright.

What follows is a poem on similar lines with many more dates in American history. For more about the author click the link at the end of the poem

In fourteen hundred ninety-two,
Columbus sailed the ocean blue
And found this land, land of the Free,
Beloved by you, beloved by me.

And in the year sixteen and seven,
Good Captain Smith thought he’d reach Heav’n,
And then he founded Jamestown City,
Alas, ’tis gone, oh, what a pity.

’Twas in September sixteen nine,
WIth ship, Half Moon, a read Dutch sign,
That Henry Hudson found the stream,
The Hudson River of our dream.

In sixteen twenty, pilgrims saw
Our land that had no unjust law.
Their children live here to this day,
Proud citizens of U.S.A.

In sixteen hundred eighty-three,
Good William Penn stood ’neath a tree
And swore that unto his life’s end
He would be the Indian’s friend.

In seventeen hundred seventy-five,
Good Paul Revere was then alive;
He rode like wild throughout the night,
And called the Minute Men to fight.

Year seventeen hundred seventy-six,
July the fourth, this date please fix
Within your minds, my children dear,
For that was Independence Year.

In that same year on a bitter night
At Trenton was an awful fight,
But by our brave George Washington
The battle was at last well won.

Two other dates in your mind fix—
Franklin born in seventeen six,
And Washington first said “Boo-Hoo”
In seventeen hundred thirty-two.

In seventeen hundred seventy-nine,
Paul Jones, who was a captain fine,
Gained our first naval victory
Fighting on the big, wide sea.

And in the year eighteen and four,
Lewis and Clark both went before,
And blazed for us the Oregon Trail
Where men go now in ease by rail.

In eighteen hundred and thirteen,
On great Lake Erie could be seen
Our Perry fight the Union Jack
And drive it from our shores far back.

In eighteen hundred and sixty-one,
An awful war was then begun
Between the brothers of our land,
Who now together firmly stand.

In eighteen hundred sixty-three,
Each slave was told that he was free
By Lincoln, with whom few compare
In being kind and just and fair.

In eighteen hundred eighty-one,
At Panama there was begun
By good De Lesseps, wise and great,
The big canal, now our ship’s gate.

At San Juan, eighteen ninety-eight,
Our brave Rough Riders lay in wait,
And on the land brought victory,
While Dewey won it on the sea.

In nineteen hundred and fifteen,
Was shown a panoramic screen
At San Francisco’s wondrous fair;
All peoples were invited there.

But cruel war in that same year
Kept strangers from our land o’ cheer,
And nineteen seventeen brought here
The war that filled our hearts with fear.

Thank God in nineteen eighteen
Peace on earth again was seen,
And we are praying that she’ll stay
Forever in our U.S.A.
Winifred Sackville Stoner Jr.
(But wars weren't ended by this war
In nineteen thirty nine war raged once more
Nineteen forty five saw the defeat of the Hun
The nuclear age had begun
...JB)

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