Character guide

Christopher Columbus

major

Also known as Columbus, great Columbus

Columbus opens the poem as a prisoner in Valladolid, sweating the chill sod while Ferdinand sleeps untroubled above him, his crown gemmed by the very voyages that earned his admiral a cell. His monologue measures the gulf between what he traced across the chartless main and what avarice made of it — tribes he fostered snatched from his hand and slaughtered for spoil. When Hesper lifts him to the mount of vision, his private ruin becomes the vantage from which the whole American future will be surveyed.

Hesper

major

Hesper watches from his far heaven as Frost congeals the Delaware and the trapped fleet stands moveless in crystal, then descends in a flamy car to contest the elemental war for Hesperia's right. He fights not with words but with a rooted pine, stroke after stroke pulverizing the ice until the baffled tyrant quits the field and the river swells and thaws. As Columbus's guide up the mount of vision, he turns a broken old man's despair into a prophecy of nations.

Manco Capac

supporting

Also known as Capac

Manco Capac appears in the vision of the Americas as the civilizing patriarch of Peru, the sacred parent whose reign began when the Sun in pity taught the lone tribes to abandon imaginary powers and feuds. He stands opposite the sachem who defends the old religion of fire and human tribute, insisting that his own forefathers sprang from a god no less than Capac's. His presence gives the poem's American future a native antiquity — empire and law in the New World long before Europe arrived.

Dread Lawrence

supporting

Also known as Lawrence, the contristed Lawrence, Lorenzo

Lawrence moves through the poem's darker rites as a figure of restrained sorrow, the parent or leader whose composure under unbearable loss marks him as much as any victory. He confronts Rocha and the afflicted chief over the meaning of sacrifice, hearing the prince describe happier lands where no red flaming flood burns the concave and no furious god demands blood. His quiet endurance of the sacrificial doom gives the poem's argument against fanatic cruelty a human face rather than an abstract one.

Muhammad

minor

The prophet of Islam, referenced as a historical and religious leader in the epic's scope.

Washington

major

Also known as Washington superior, sage Washington, swift Washington, young Washington, dread Washington

Washington enters the vision first in his young martial frame, beginning his fame at the field where Braddock falls, then strides into the future as the general whose audacious night crossing of the Delaware surprises the British van against uncommon obstacles. Around him the poem arrays the prison ship's expanding womb, the retreat of his tattered army, and the citizen soldiers who gather at Saratoga. He is the hinge on which Barlow's prophecy of American liberty turns from suffering to triumph.

Wise Capac

supporting

Also known as Capac

Wise Capac belongs to the poem's gallery of American lawgivers, the Inca sovereign whose wisdom stands alongside Manco Capac's founding reign in the vision of the continent's past. He embodies the ordered, sun-reverencing civilization that the Spanish conquest will later destroy, giving the poem's indictment of avarice its deepest historical wound. His presence in the vision insists that the New World possessed its own emperors, laws, and gods long before Columbus unfurled an eastern banner over it.

Greene

supporting

Greene belongs to the hard middle stretch of the poem's war, the years when American fortunes in the South hang on maneuver rather than glory. His genius is defensive and stubborn: he trades ground for time, keeps an outmatched army alive, and lets the enemy exhaust itself chasing him. His presence lets Barlow show that freedom is won as much by endurance and judgment as by dramatic charges.

Sage Franklin

supporting

Also known as Franklin

Franklin stands among the poem's elected sires, the men nursed in equality who rule by paternal hand and reason's page. Where soldiers supply force, he supplies the argument that rights belong to the people and that virtue and talent, not birth, are the true test of authority. His wisdom steadies the visionary sweep of the poem, grounding its soaring hopes in statute, science, and patient statecraft.

The sweet Lucinda

supporting

Also known as Lucinda

Lucinda moves through the poem as an emblem of the beautiful and the good, the domestic grace set against blazing towns and groaning prison ships. She is less a plotted actor than a lodestar: the warmth that makes the harsh cost of war legible and worth bearing. Her sweetness gives the epic its counterweight, reminding the reader that freedom's value is measured in the homes it keeps safe.

Zamor

supporting

Zamor belongs to the poem's vision of America before and during conquest, when painted warriors pour down from the darken'd heights and the streams run purple. He carries the tragedy of the continent's first peoples, whose world is sacked even as new cities rise along the Delaware and the Hudson. His presence forces the epic to reckon with what its triumphant progress costs, giving the story a conscience beneath its pageantry.

Burgoyne

supporting

Also known as sad Burgoyne, General Burgoyne

Burgoyne arrives in the poem as the embodiment of Britain's overreach, marching a fine army into country that swallows it. His defeat at Saratoga becomes the hinge that brings France into the war, and the poet grants him the dignity of a tragic fall rather than mere villainy. His ruin shows that empire's confidence can be broken by terrain, timing, and men fighting for their own soil.

Cornwallis

supporting

Also known as brave Cornwallis

Cornwallis drives the poem's late military movement, chasing success through the Carolinas until Greene's attrition and the closing French and American armies pen him against the sea. Barlow calls him brave and lets him yield with reluctant honor, refusing to make the enemy a mere caricature. His surrender at York and Gloucester, with the naval battle of the Degrasse and Graves behind it, becomes the moment the vision's promise of liberty finally takes hold.

Columbia

supporting

Columbia presides over Barlow's prophetic pageant as the living spirit of the western world, the figure in whom the poem's scattered hopes for liberty finally take shape. She embodies the tension between the bloodstained conquests of Spain and the enlightened republic the poet believes must follow. For the early and middle books, she is the moral horizon: every mountain, river, and future state the vision unfolds is hers to claim and defend.

Garcilasso de la Vega

minor

Also known as Garcilasso, Inca Garcilasso de la Vega

The Inca-Spanish historian, appearing as a narrator or source of Peruvian history.

Herkimer

minor

Nicholas Herkimer, an American general mortally wounded at the Battle of Oriskany.

Rocha

minor

Also known as young Rocha

A young character, possibly a native or Spanish figure, involved in the New World narrative.

Oella

minor

Also known as Mama Oella

A maternal or nurturing figure, possibly an Inca queen or allegorical mother.

Bartholomew de las Casas

minor

Also known as Bartholomew

The Spanish friar and historian, defender of indigenous rights, appearing as a moral voice.

Britannia

minor

Also known as brave Wolfe, Wolfe, Wolfe Britannia

The personification of Britain and General James Wolfe, victor at Quebec.

Arnold

supporting

Also known as Brave Arnold trod, General Arnold

Arnold appears among the heroes of the American war, celebrated for daring deeds before his infamous betrayal shadows the record. Barlow grants him courage without absolving him, letting the reader feel how thin the line runs between patriotic fire and self-serving ambition. His presence sharpens the Columbiad's central question: what makes a nation's defenders worthy of the freedom they win.

Ferdinand

minor

King Ferdinand of Spain, sponsor of Columbus's voyage, appearing as a royal patron.

Montgomery

minor

General Richard Montgomery, American hero killed at the Battle of Quebec.

Isabella

minor

Also known as Queen Isabella

Queen Isabella of Spain, who supported Columbus's expedition, appearing as a regal figure.

Atlas

minor

The Titan who holds up the sky, used as a mythological reference in the poem.

Howe

minor

General William Howe, British commander during the American Revolution.

Francis de Bovadilla

minor

Also known as Bovadilla, Francis

A Spanish colonial administrator who replaced Columbus as governor of Hispaniola.

Nicholas de Ovando

minor

Also known as Ovando

Spanish governor of Hispaniola who succeeded Bovadilla and opposed Columbus.

Drake

minor

Sir Francis Drake, English sea captain and explorer of the New World.

Atabalipa

minor

Atahualpa, the last Inca emperor, executed by Francisco Pizarro.

Sir William Johnson

minor

Also known as Sir William

British superintendent of Indian affairs in the American colonies.

Ninus

minor

Ancient Assyrian king, mentioned as a historical conqueror and example of tyranny.

Homer

minor

The ancient Greek poet, invoked as an epic predecessor and source of inspiration.

Mr. West

minor

Also known as West

Likely the painter Benjamin West, appearing as a character or artistic figure in the poem.

Young Capac

minor

Also known as Capac

A younger Inca ruler, possibly a son or successor, active in the Peruvian episodes.

Morgan

minor

Daniel Morgan, an American rifleman and general, known for his sharpshooters in the Revolution.

Benjamin West

minor

Also known as West

The American painter, possibly depicted creating art that commemorates the epic events.

Napo

minor

A figure associated with the Napo River or region, possibly a native leader or guide.

Taylor

minor

An American officer or soldier, likely a minor character in the Revolutionary War scenes.

Moses

minor

Also known as Lycurgus

The biblical lawgiver and Spartan lawgiver, paired as examples of ancient legislators.

Huana Capac

minor

Also known as Huana, Capac

An Inca emperor, father of Atahualpa, appearing in the Peruvian historical narrative.

Hernando Cortez

minor

Also known as Cortez

The Spanish conquistador of Mexico, depicted as a ruthless but bold explorer.

Pedro de la Gasca

minor

A Spanish priest and diplomat who pacified Peru after the civil wars.

Luther

minor

Martin Luther, the Protestant reformer, referenced as a figure of religious change.

Moxoe

minor

A native American character, possibly a chief or warrior in the New World episodes.

Albion

minor

Also known as bright Albion

The personification of England, often contrasted with Columbia in the poem.

Lincoln

minor

Also known as Undaunted Lincoln, joyous Lincoln

General Benjamin Lincoln, an American officer who served in the Southern campaign.

Xerxes

minor

The Persian king, invoked as an example of ancient imperial ambition and defeat.

Venus

minor

The Roman goddess of love, appearing in classical allusions within the epic.

Herschel

minor

William Herschel, the astronomer who discovered Uranus, representing scientific discovery.

Jacob

minor

The biblical patriarch, referenced in religious contexts within the epic.

Frazer

minor

A British officer, possibly General Simon Fraser, killed at the Battle of Saratoga.

Virgil

minor

The Roman epic poet, invoked as a model for the Columbiad's poetic style.

Sage Raleigh

minor

Sir Walter Raleigh, the English explorer and writer, appearing as a wise figure.

Numa

minor

Numa Pompilius, the legendary second king of Rome, a lawgiver and peacemaker.

Hudson

minor

Henry Hudson, the English explorer of the river and bay named after him.

Randolph

minor

Peyton Randolph, American patriot and first President of the Continental Congress.

Starke

minor

General John Stark, American hero of the Battle of Bennington in the Revolution.

Wolsey

minor

Also known as proud Wolsey

Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, English statesman, used as an example of fallen pride.

Wolcott

minor

Oliver Wolcott, American patriot and signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Carleton

minor

Also known as General Sir Guy Carleton, General Carleton

British General Guy Carleton, governor of Quebec during the American Revolution.

Voltaire

minor

French Enlightenment philosopher, referenced for his wit and criticism of religion.

Charles V

minor

Also known as Charles

Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain during the conquest of the Americas.

Sir Philip Sidney

minor

Also known as Philip

English poet and soldier, a model of Renaissance chivalry and learning.

Clinton

minor

Sir Henry Clinton, British general during the American Revolutionary War.

Braddock

minor

General Edward Braddock, British commander defeated at the Battle of the Monongahela.

William Penn

minor

Also known as Penn

Founder of Pennsylvania, shown treating peacefully with Native Americans.

Alexander

minor

Alexander the Great, ancient conqueror, used as a benchmark for military ambition.

Pizarro

minor

Also known as O curst Pizarro

Francisco Pizarro, Spanish conquistador of Peru, depicted as cruel and greedy.

Wayne

minor

General Anthony Wayne, American officer known for his daring in the Revolution.

Cupid

minor

The Roman god of love, appearing in mythological scenes within the poem.