Skip to content
Storgy

The Annotated Edition

OCTOBER, 1746 by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Summary, meaning, line-by-line analysis & FAQ.

A Puritan minister, Thomas Prince, recounts his experience praying in Boston's Old South Church for a storm to thwart the French fleet heading to attack the city.

Poet
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The PoemFull text

OCTOBER, 1746

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

MR. THOMAS PRINCE loquitur. A fleet with flags arrayed Sailed from the port of Brest, And the Admiral's ship displayed The signal: "Steer southwest." For this Admiral D'Anville Had sworn by cross and crown To ravage with fire and steel Our helpless Boston Town. There were rumors in the street, In the houses there was fear Of the coming of the fleet, And the danger hovering near. And while from mouth to mouth Spread the tidings of dismay, I stood in the Old South, Saying humbly: "Let us pray! "O Lord! we would not advise; But if in thy Providence A tempest should arise To drive the French fleet hence, And scatter it far and wide, Or sink it in the sea, We should be satisfied, And thine the glory be." This was the prayer I made, For my soul was all on flame, And even as I prayed The answering tempest came; It came with a mighty power, Shaking the windows and walls, And tolling the bell in the tower, As it tolls at funerals. The lightning suddenly Unsheathed its flaming sword, And I cried: "Stand still, and see The salvation of the Lord!" The heavens were black with cloud, The sea was white with hail, And ever more fierce and loud Blew the October gale. The fleet it overtook, And the broad sails in the van Like the tents of Cushan shook, Or the curtains of Midian. Down on the reeling decks Crashed the o'erwhelming seas; Ah, never were there wrecks So pitiful as these! Like a potter's vessel broke The great ships of the line; They were carried away as a smoke, Or sank like lead in the brine. O Lord! before thy path They vanished and ceased to be, When thou didst walk in wrath With thine horses through the sea!

Public domain

Sourced from Project Gutenberg

§01Quick summary

What this poem is about

A Puritan minister, Thomas Prince, recounts his experience praying in Boston's Old South Church for a storm to thwart the French fleet heading to attack the city. According to him, God responded right away. The storm destroyed D'Anville's fleet before it could land, and Prince sees this as evidence of divine support for New England. His account is a vivid retelling of a true historical event, presented as a first-person eyewitness testimony filled with thunder, lightning, and biblical fervor.

§02Themes

Recurring themes

§03Line by line

Stanza by stanza, with notes

  1. A fleet with flags arrayed / Sailed from the port of Brest,

    Editor's note

    Longfellow establishes the setting efficiently and straightforwardly: a French naval fleet has departed from Brest, commanded by Admiral D'Anville, with clear orders to assault Boston. The presence of flags and formal signals creates an atmosphere of an actual military threat rather than mere gossip. The tight, ballad-like rhyme scheme maintains a swift pace and keeps the narrative engaging.

  2. There were rumors in the street, / In the houses there was fear

    Editor's note

    The poem shifts focus from the ocean to the city. Fear spreads like news — from person to person, home to home. The phrase 'danger hovering near' gives the threat a tangible, almost atmospheric feeling. Then, Reverend Thomas Prince steps forward and makes his way to the Old South Church to pray.

  3. 'O Lord! we would not advise; / But if in thy Providence'

    Editor's note

    This is the core of the poem's theology. Prince expresses his prayer with a mindful humility — he isn't *ordering* God around; instead, he's simply *hinting* that a storm would be helpful. The conditional phrasing ('if in thy Providence') shows both political cleverness and a genuine Puritan respect for divine will. The prayer carries a subtly ironic tone in its politeness.

  4. This was the prayer I made, / For my soul was all on flame,

    Editor's note

    The prayer concludes just as the storm starts — almost at the same moment. Longfellow shortens the timeline to create a sense of miraculous cause and effect. The bell tolling 'as it tolls at funerals' adds a haunting touch: it marks death, but it's the enemy's death, not Boston's.

  5. The lightning suddenly / Unsheathed its flaming sword,

    Editor's note

    Lightning becomes a sword drawn by God—a clear act of divine warfare. Prince shouts a line from Exodus ("Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord"), echoing the words Moses spoke before the Red Sea parted. Longfellow intentionally layers this New England storm over the Old Testament, portraying the colonists as a new chosen people.

  6. The fleet it overtook, / And the broad sails in the van

    Editor's note

    The storm hits the fleet hard. Longfellow references two biblical passages — 'the tents of Cushan' and 'the curtains of Midian' — both found in the Book of Habakkuk, which speaks to God's awe-inspiring power during conflict. The French sails tremble like tent curtains, transforming a formidable navy into something delicate and fleeting.

  7. Like a potter's vessel broke / The great ships of the line;

    Editor's note

    More biblical imagery: Psalm 2 describes God smashing enemies "like a potter's vessel." The grand warships — symbols of French imperial power — are shattered into fragments. The picture of ships sinking "like lead in the brine" recalls Exodus 15, where Pharaoh's chariots sank in the Red Sea. Prince's closing lines speak directly to God, wrapping up the poem's journey from fear to awe.

§04Tone & mood

How this poem feels

The tone is both triumphant and respectful, filled with a sense of wonder. Prince tells the story like someone who has just seen their prayer come to life, leaving no room for doubt or irony in the poem. Longfellow maintains a controlled and formal voice — this is a testimony, not an act of boasting. The biblical rhythms lend a solemn, hymn-like feel to the piece, even though the subject matter revolves around a war story.

§05Symbols & metaphors

Symbols & metaphors

The storm
The storm represents divine intervention at its core. In Prince's narrative, it's not just a natural weather occurrence — it's God's direct answer to prayer, used as a weapon for Boston's sake. The fact that it arrives right in the middle of the sermon is what transforms it into a miracle rather than mere coincidence.
The lightning as a sword
Unsheathing a sword is a purposeful declaration of war. By transforming lightning into a divine weapon, Longfellow presents the storm as a battle on a cosmic scale, with God leading as the general and the elements forming his army.
The tolling bell
The church bell tolls through the storm just like it does at a funeral. It hints at mass death, but this time it’s the attacking fleet that faces it, not Boston. The bell carries an ominous tone and, looking back, serves as a death knell for the enemy.
The potter's vessel
The shattered clay pot, inspired by Psalm 2, symbolizes the complete and effortless defeat of those who stand against God. When this imagery is applied to French warships, it diminishes their military prestige, making their loss appear unavoidable rather than a matter of chance.
The Old South Church
The church is where prayer and history come together. By naming it, Longfellow ties the miraculous to a real, existing landmark in Boston, making it hard to distinguish between legend and actual history.

§06Historical context

Historical context

In 1746, France launched a significant naval expedition led by the Duc d'Anville to reclaim Louisbourg and assault British colonial settlements, including Boston. However, the fleet faced devastating storms, disease, and bad luck before it could reach its goals — D'Anville himself perished at sea, potentially by suicide. New England Puritans, such as the actual Reverend Thomas Prince of Boston's Old South Church, publicly attributed the calamity to divine intervention in response to their prayers. Longfellow, who wrote in the nineteenth century, had a strong interest in New England's colonial and Puritan heritage, and poems like this one align with *The Courtship of Miles Standish* and *Paul Revere's Ride* as poetic retellings of pivotal American events. The poem is crafted as a dramatic monologue, presenting Prince's voice directly to the reader.

§07FAQ

Questions readers ask

Yes. The D'Anville expedition of 1746 was an actual French naval campaign that ended disastrously before it could reach Boston. Storms, disease, and the death of its commander decimated the fleet. Reverend Thomas Prince was a genuine Boston minister who preached about the storms as acts of divine intervention, and Longfellow bases the poem directly on that historical account.

Read next

Poems in the same key

Similar poems

God's Grandeur — Gerard Manley HopkinsTHE PRESENT CRISIS — James Russell LowellThe Soldier — Rupert Brooke

More by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Browse all Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poems →

Themes in this poem

Poems about faithPoems about fearPoems about freedomPoems about war