Casabianca ( The Boy Stood On The Burning Deck ) by Felicia Dorothea Hemans
The poem Casabianca was written by Mrs. Felicia Dorothea Hemans. It starts out with the well known line, the boy stood on the burning deck. The story relates to an extraordinary incident of devotion and heroism witnessed during the Battle of the Nile. It was on the evening of July 28 of 1798 that the English naval squadron under Lord Nelson sailed in. They had caught the French fleet at anchor and unprepared. The French flagship was the L Orient and it soon found itself flanked by English ships attacking from both sides. A fierce battle was soon raging and the flashes of 2000 guns lit up the ships in the gathering darkness. L Orient was caught by the English broadsides and was set ablaze. It was then that the English sailors saw an amazing sight. There on that burning deck they saw a boy standing alone. He was Cassabianca, the 12 year old son of one of the ship s officers. There he stood, alone at his post. He was surrounded by flames and facing the astonished E br, br,
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