next of course god america i

I had to read this poem a couple of times because I had difficulty piecing together the sentences due to the lack of punctuation. While reading the beginning of the poem, I noticed the different parts from various patriotic songs, like "land of the pilgrims'," "oh say can you see by the dawn's early," and "my country 'tis of." The next set of phrases that caught my attention were "by gorry by jingo by gee by gosh by gum." The author was incorporating and paying tribute to the various regional dialects of America, and it may have related to the author's reference of "every language." I thought the "heroic happy dead" were the soldiers that fought during the Revolutionary War, and they rushed into "the roaring slaughter" because no one thought the Americans could actually win the war. I have the impression that both the speaker and the author admire the soldiers not stopping and thinking before entering the war. Had they done so, they probably would not have entered into the fight for freedom and won our independence. The speakers says "next of course to god" in the first line of the poem to illustrate the depth of his love for America; his love is second only to God. I did not even notice the quotation marks until I read the last line, and then I realized the speaker was telling this to an audience. I could not figure out who the speaker is or what the purpose is of the last line. I thought of professional speakers drinking from water during pauses in the presentation, and this speaker maybe in a formal situation, addressing a certain crowd. He offers a thought provoking question at the end of his dialogue, perhaps to challenge the group.