North Amerikay

The first of last November at the dawning of the day
In New York we landed and anchored in the bay,
To meet our foes at King's Bridge, next morn we marched away
To fight our own relations in the North Amerikay.

Many a valiant hero, brought up wiht tender care,
Like lambs that day at King's Bridge they cruelly slaughtered were,
Down on our Irish heroes the cannon balls did play
This was a woeful welcome to the North Amerikay.

Through fields of blood we waded, while cannons they did roar,
And many a valieant hero lay covered with his gore,
And heaps of mangled soldiers upon the plain there lay
Who were both killed and wounded in the North Amerikay.

Twould melt your heart with pity to hear the soldier's wives,
Screaming for their dead husbands with melancholy cries,
And the children crying "Mama" sure we may rue the day
We came to lose our fathers in the North Amerikay.

(EFSJ ii 90. and of.Joyce AIM 'Lamentation' and also 'the Dawning of the Day')

On September 15th 1776 the British Troops, 70,000 stong captured King's Bridge a pass about 15 miles from New York which had been stronly fortified by the Americans under General Washington. The fort was destroyed entirely and New York was afterwards taken, with great bloodshed. There was great indignation in Ireland that Irish troops should be sent to 'fight their own relations' in North America.