Not sure if this counts as an essay, but it isn't fictional nor is it poetry, so here goes.
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"If we refuse to fight, I have little doubt that the result will be bitter dissension; our purpose will be shaken and we shall submit to Persia. But if we fight before the rot can show itself in any of us, then, if God gives us fair play, we can be not only fight but win. Yours is the decision; all hangs upon you; vote on my side and our country will be free- yes, and the first city of Greece. But if you support those who have voted against fighting, that happiness will be denied you- you will get the opposite."

I, Miltiades, spoke those words to Callimachus, War-Archon at the time. They served their purpose, and I thought of them as I stood waiting before the field of battle. Surrounded by hoplite foot-soldiers, I once again swept the landscape with my eyes, ready to command the Athenian and Plataean armies in battle as soon as the enemy made an appearance.

The Persians' leader Datis the Mede had sent his forces to Marathon, and we Athenians had ridden to meet them. There we were met by the Plataeans, who, due to certain events not pertinent to my story, were our allies. We were all together on a plot of land sacred to the hero-god Heracles, so to be sure of victory. A group of Athenians led by Callimachus formed the right wing, then more of the army was spread, tribes side by side, in narrow ranks to cover more ground. The Plataeans formed the left wing. I was situated in the middle ranks. So laid out, the army waited confidently, not one man's heart shadowed by fear.

We caught sight of the Persians, about a mile away. We charged straight towards them on a run. They certainly had not expected this, a little force charging without any cavalry or archers. So we gained something of the element of surprise. The two armies met, and the battle began in full force. I am giving only a summary of this battle, so there is no need to go into explicit detail. The fight lasted several hours, and as the day went by, it was sometimes hard to tell just who was winning.

All were exhausted, yet we could not stop fighting. Towards the beginning of the battle, the Persians had broken through the middle where our troops were spread so thinly. They chased our men further inland while the main battle raged by the shore. I was fighting some ways away from the left and right wings when I saw that Callimachus' Athenians and the Plataeans had finally been victorious, and were turning around to finish off the remainder of the Persians.

I rushed to join them, and together we put to flight all of the enemy we could find. We chased them back to their ships, where further battle ensued, and we again were successful, burning down seven of their vessels. We went back to Athens victorious, having killed 6,400 Persians and losing only 192 of our own. The day was won; the Persians were soundly defeated and did not return again for ten years.