| James and Mary Ford, eds. Every Day in the Year. 1902. | | | | October 14 | | Jena | | By Francis Saltus Saltus (1849–1889) |
| | | | The battle of Jena, fought on Oct. 14, 1806, was one of Napoleon’s victories over the Prussians and Saxons. |
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THE PRUSSIAN eagle in its eyrie screamed, | |
| And, from the sandy plains in war’s array, | |
| Dense hordes of stolid, boorish soldiers streamed | |
| To meet the men of Rivoli that day; | |
| The martial hosts yearning to smite and slay, | 5 |
| Stood there defiant with bare swords that gleamed, | |
| And in calm, haughty insolence they seemed | |
| Like hungry condors watching for their prey. | |
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| The Titan fray began, and with disdain | |
| The laureled grenadiers of France marched on, | 10 |
| Stern and majestic, through the bullets’ rain, | |
| Until the corpse-clogged field was nobly won, | |
| While the astounded Vandals fled in vain | |
| Before the cold sneer of Napoleon. | | | |
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