Part 11

Richard Henry Stoddard, one of our three most distinguished living poets, (see note on “Kearny at Seven Pines,” by Edmund Clarence Stedman) was born in Hingham, Massachusetts, July 2, 1825. Mr. Stoddard’s long devotion to literature (although he was for some years connected with the New York custom-house and dock department) is too well known to call for extended chronicle. Not only as a poet, but also as an editor and critic, has he won a high place in American letters.

Brigadier-General Nathaniel Lyon, a native of Connecticut (1818), a graduate of West Point, and a veteran of the Seminole and Mexican wars, was killed while rallying his troops at the battle of Wilson’s Creek, Missouri, August 10, 1861.

21. THE CUMBERLAND. By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. See note on “Paul Revere.”

The battle of Hampton Roads, Virginia, during which the _Cumberland_ was sunk by the Confederate ram _Merrimac_, was fought March 9, 1862. Morris (George Upham, 1830-1875), who was temporarily commanding the _Cumberland_, entered the navy early in life as a midshipman, and served until the year before his death. He took part in a number of engagements during the Rebellion, and was wounded at Fort Darling. An incident of the _Cumberland-Merrimac_ battle is described by George H. Boker (see “The Black Regiment”) in a poem entitled

THE SWORD-BEARER

Brave Morris saw the day was lost: For nothing now remained Of the wrecked and sinking _Cumberland_ But to save the flag unstained.

So he swore an oath in the sight of heaven-- (If he kept it the world can tell!) “Before I strike to a rebel flag, I’ll sink to the gates of hell!

“Here, take my sword; ’tis in my way; I shall trip o’er the useless steel; For I’ll meet the lot that falls to all, With my shoulder at the wheel,”

So the little negro took the sword, And oh, with what reverent care! Following his master step by step, He bore it here and there.

A thought had crept through his sluggish brain, And shone in his dusky face, That somehow--he could not tell just how-- ’Twas the sword of his trampled race.

And as Morris, great with his lion heart, Rushed onward from gun to gun, The little negro slid after him Like a shadow in the sun.

But something of pomp and of curious pride The sable creature wore, Which at any time but a time like that Would have made the ship’s crew roar.

Over the wounded, dying, and dead, Like an usher of the rod, The black page, full of his mighty trust, With dainty caution trod.

No heed he gave to the flying ball, No heed to the bursting shell; His duty was something more than life, And he strove to do it well.

Down with our starry flag apeak, In the whirling sea we sank; And captain and crew and the sword-bearer Were washed from the bloody plank.

They picked us up from the hungry waves-- Alas, not all! And where, Where is the faithful negro lad? “Back oars! avast! look there!”

We looked, and as heaven may save my soul, I pledge you a sailor’s word, There, fathoms deep in the sea he lay, Still grasping his master’s sword.

We drew him out; and many an hour We wrought with his rigid form Ere the almost smothered spark of life By slow degrees grew warm.

The first dull glance that his eyeballs rolled Was down toward his shrunken hand; And he smiled, and closed his eyes again, As they fell on the rescued brand.

And no one touched the sacred sword, Till at length, when Morris came, The little negro stretched it out With his eager eyes aflame.

And if Morris wrung the poor boy’s hand, And his words seemed hard to speak, And tears ran down his manly cheeks, What tongue shall call him weak?

22. JOHNSTON AT SHILOH. By Fleming James.

Albert Sydney Johnston, who commanded the Confederate forces at the battle of Shiloh, was a Kentuckian by birth (1803), and was one of the most able of the Southern leaders. He had had a wide experience in military affairs, being a West Point graduate, and having served in Mexico and upon the plains. The battle of Shiloh was fought on the 6th of April, 1862.

23. THE RIVER FIGHT. By Henry Howard Brownell.

Henry Howard Brownell, called “the laureate of the Civil War,” was born in Providence, Rhode Island, February 6, 1820. His early manhood was devoted to literary work. He served on the _Hartford_ under Farragut during a part of the Rebellion, and at the close of the war accompanied that officer upon a cruise to various European ports. He died in Hartford, Connecticut, October 31, 1872. Thomas Bailey Aldrich has paid a beautiful tribute to his memory in a sonnet beginning--

“They never crowned him, never knew his worth, But let him go unlaureled to the grave.”

The conflict commemorated in this poem, resulting in the opening of the lower Mississippi, took place on the 24th of April, 1862. The introductory portion of the poem is omitted, and a few additional stanzas that retard, rather than accelerate, the forward movement.

=Stanza 1.= “Up the River of Death Sailed the great Admiral.”

David Glasgow Farragut, generally conceded to be the greatest American seaman, was born near Knoxville, Tennessee, July 5, 1801. His most famous victories were those of the “River Fight” and of Mobile Bay, which Brownell celebrated in a poem entitled “The Bay Fight,” perhaps his best-known effort, the length of which precludes its use in this volume. (See poem, “Farragut,” by William T. Meredith). He died in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, August 14, 1870.

=Stanza 4.= =Porter= (David Dixon, 1813-1891), the naval officer who succeeded Farragut as vice-admiral and admiral. He had command of the mortar flotilla in the “River Fight.”

=Last Stanza.= The church-pennant is made of white bunting in the form of an isosceles triangle, on each side of which is sewed blue bunting in shape of a cross resting horizontally on the white. This pennant is used only when religious service is being held, and is then hoisted above the national ensign.

24. KEARNY AT SEVEN PINES. By Edmund Clarence Stedman.

Edmund Clarence Stedman, our most distinguished critic, and one of the three most distinguished of our living poets (the others being Richard Henry Stoddard and Thomas Bailey Aldrich), was born in Hartford, Connecticut, October 8, 1833. He entered journalism after leaving college, and was a war correspondent during the early years of the Civil War. Later he purchased a seat in the New York stock exchange, and became a broker, devoting his leisure to literature. He has for many years been one of the most prominent figures in literary New York.

The battle of Seven Pines was fought on the 31st of May, 1862.

Philip Kearny was born in New York City, June 2, 1815. Entering the army in 1837, he was sent to Europe two years later to observe the tactics of the French cavalry. Enlisting in the French service, he performed many daring exploits in Algiers. He was in the Mexican War, and was the first American to enter the city of Mexico. He won the cross of the Legion of Honor in the Franco-Austrian war of 1859, and his service to the Union cause in the Rebellion before his death was conspicuous. General Scott once referred to him as the bravest and most perfect soldier he ever knew. The battle of Chantilly, where General Kearny lost his life, took place September 1, 1862. The general became separated from his men in the dusk and driving rain, and rode by mistake into the Confederate line. Encountering some skirmishers, he perceived his blunder, wheeled his horse, and endeavored to escape, but a volley rang out and he fell. It was in Kearny’s memory that George H. Boker wrote his most tender lyric:

DIRGE FOR A SOLDIER

Close his eyes; his work is done! What to him is friend or foeman, Rise of moon, or set of sun, Hand of man, or kiss of woman? Lay him low, lay him low, In the clover or the snow! What cares he? he cannot know: Lay him low!

As man may, he fought his fight, Proved his truth by his endeavor; Let him sleep in solemn night, Sleep forever and forever. Lay him low, lay him low In the clover or the snow! What cares he? he cannot know: Lay him low!

Fold him in his country’s stars, Roll the drum and fire the volley; What to him are all our wars, What but Death bemocking Folly? Lay him low, lay him low, In the clover or the snow! What cares he? he cannot know: Lay him low!

Leave him to God’s watching eye, Trust him to the hand that made him. Mortal love weeps idly by: God alone has power to aid him. Lay him low, lay him low, In the clover or the snow! What cares he? he cannot know: Lay him low!

=Stanza 1.= =Jameson= (Charles Davis), a brigadier-general of volunteers who died in the service.

=Berry= (Hiram George), a major-general of volunteers, killed in the battle of Chancellorsville. See “Keenan’s Charge.”

=Birney= (David Bell), a major-general of volunteers, who succeeded General Berry after the fall of the latter at Chancellorsville. He died in the service.

25. AN UNKNOWN HERO. By William Gordon McCabe.

William Gordon McCabe was born in Richmond, Virginia, August 4, 1841. He served in various capacities in the Confederate army throughout the Civil War, since the close of which he has been active as an educator and as a writer upon educational and general topics.

“After the battle of Malvern Hill, Virginia (July 1, 1862), a soldier was found dead fifty yards in advance of any officer or man, his musket firmly grasped in his rigid fingers,--name unknown,--simply ‘2 La.’ (Second Louisiana) on his cap.” Malvern Hill lies near the James River, about fifteen miles southeast of Richmond.

26. BARBARA FRIETCHIE. By John Greenleaf Whittier.

John Greenleaf Whittier, “the Quaker laureate of Puritan New England,” and by some considered the most distinctively American poet, was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, December 17, 1807. Whittier was prominent among the anti-slavery agitators, and during his early manhood gave much of his time and strength to the interests of the cause. He took up his permanent residence at Amesbury, Massachusetts, in 1840, and lived there, and at “Oak Knoll,” in Danvers, during the remainder of his life. “Of all our poets,” says Mr. Stedman, “he is the most natural balladist.” He is seen at his best in such ballads as “Cassandra Southwick,” “Mary Garvin,” and “The Wreck of Rivermouth,” and in the New England pastoral, “Snowbound.” He died at Hampton Falls, New Hampshire, September 7, 1892.

It was during the march of “Stonewall” Jackson’s command through Frederick City, Maryland, just before the battle of South Mountain, in September, 1862, that the incidents which inspired this poem are said to have occurred. Their truth having been questioned, Mr. Francis F. Browne appealed to Mr. Whittier, and in November, 1885, received from the poet the subjoined statement:--“Of the substantial truth of the heroism of Barbara Frietchie I can have no doubt. Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth, the novelist, of Washington, sent me a slip from a newspaper stating the circumstance as it is given in the poem, and assured me of its substantial correctness. Dorothea L. Dix, the philanthropic worker in Union hospitals, confirmed it. From half a dozen other sources I had the account, and all agree in the main facts. Barbara Frietchie was the boldest and most outspoken Unionist in Frederick, and manifested it to the rebel army in an unmistakable manner.” In spite of Mr. Whittier’s belief in the truth of the incident, its authenticity has been seriously questioned in later years.

“Stonewall” Jackson (Thomas Jonathan), one of the most brilliant generals on either side in the Civil War, was born in Clarksburg, West Virginia, January 21, 1824. He graduated at West Point, and was twice breveted in the war with Mexico. At the beginning of the Rebellion he took command of the Confederate troops at Harper’s Ferry. He commanded a brigade at the battle of Bull Run, where he gained the sobriquet “Stonewall” on account of the firm stand he made. After a series of brilliant victories, he was mortally wounded by some of his own men when returning from a reconnaissance after the battle of Chancellorsville. He died on the 10th of May, 1863.

=Line 10.= =Lee=, Robert Edward, the Commander-in-chief of the Confederate forces during the Civil War, was born at Stratford House in Virginia, the home of the Lees, on January 19, 1807. Like Jackson he was a West Point graduate, and like him served with distinguished bravery in the war with Mexico. At the close of the Rebellion, he was chosen president of Washington College, at Lexington, Virginia. His death occurred on October 12, 1870.

27. THE EAGLE OF CORINTH. By Henry Howard Brownell.

Henry Howard Brownell. See note on “The River Fight.”

The battle of Corinth was fought October 3d and 4th, 1862. The famous war-eagle of the poem was taken from a nest in Chippeway County, Wisconsin, by a Chippeway Indian, in July, 1861, and given by him to a farmer living near. A citizen of Eau Claire purchased the bird, and presented him to Company C, of the Eighth Wisconsin, with which he remained until the regiment was mustered out of active service. He was present at all of the battles in which the troops were engaged, and would fly over the enemy during the hottest of the fight, returning after a time to his perch upon a pole borne by one especially appointed for that duty. Whenever there was any cheering his wings were instantly outspread. At the battle of Corinth, the rebel general Price gave orders to capture or kill the eagle, saying that he was worth more than the whole brigade. The name by which the bird was universally known, “Old Abe,” was given him by Captain Wolf, of Company C, of the Eighth Wisconsin.

=Stanza 1. Price= (Stirling, 1809-1867), a Virginian who served the Confederate cause in the West and Southwest throughout the Civil War.

=Van Dorn= (=Earl=, 1820-1863), a Mississippian who rose to the rank of major-general in the Confederate service. He was shot and killed by a physician named Peters on account of some private grievance.

=Stanza 5.= =Robinett=, a fort erected by the Federal forces at Corinth.

28. READY. By Phœbe Cary.

Phœbe Cary, the younger of the Cary sisters, was born near Cincinnati, Ohio, September 4, 1824, and died in Newport, Rhode Island, July 31, 1873. Her best-known lyric is entitled “Nearer Home.”

The incident described in this poem probably occurred some time during the first week in April, 1863, when there were several actions at Rodman’s Point. This point is a strip of land projecting into the Pimlico River about a mile and a half below Washington, North Carolina.

29. THE BATTLE OF CHARLESTON HARBOR. By Paul Hamilton Hayne.

Paul Hamilton Hayne, a nephew of the noted Senator Hayne, of South Carolina, was born in Charleston, January 1, 1830. Most of his life was devoted to literature, his best work being lyrics descriptive of Southern scenery. He died at Copse Hill, Georgia, July 6, 1886.

The attack by the Union fleet upon the defenses of Charleston harbor occurred April 7, 1863.

The fort referred to in the fifth stanza is Moultrie.

30. KEENAN’S CHARGE. By George Parsons Lathrop.

George Parsons Lathrop, perhaps best known as a novelist, was born in Honolulu, Sandwich Islands, August 25, 1851, and died in New York City, April 19, 1898.

During the second day of the battle of Chancellorsville, May 2, 1863, General Pleasanton was endeavoring to get twenty-two guns into a vital position as “Stonewall” Jackson made a sudden advance. Every instant’s delay was precious, at whatever cost it was purchased, so Pleasanton ordered Major Keenan, commanding the Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry (four hundred strong), to charge the advancing ten thousand of the enemy.

General Alfred Pleasanton was born in Washington, D. C., June 7, 1824. He was a West Point graduate, and served in the Mexican War and in several Indian wars. He was the commander of the Union cavalry at the battle of Gettysburg.

Major Peter Keenan was born in York, New York, November 9, 1834. He was a resident of Philadelphia when the Civil War broke out, and assisted in recruiting the Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry, in which he was made a captain. Having attained the rank of major, he was in command of his regiment at the battle of Chancellorsville, as above stated.

=Stanza 1.= “‘Stonewall’s’ Corps.” See “Barbara Frietchie.”

31. THE HERO OF THE GUN. By Margaret Junkin Preston.

Margaret Junkin Preston, a poet and prose writer who, though a native of the North (born in Philadelphia, in 1825), has always been identified with the South. She wrote many fine ballads. She died in Baltimore, Maryland, March 28, 1897.

An incident of the Civil War which, though probably true, the son of the author is not able to identify.

32. AN INCIDENT OF WAR. By Maurice Thompson.

Maurice Thompson, poet, novelist, and journalist (brother of Will Henry Thompson,--see “High Tide at Gettysburg” and “The Bond of Blood”), was born in Fairfield, Indiana, September 9, 1844. His boyhood was passed in Kentucky and Georgia, and he served in the Confederate army throughout the Civil War, later engaging in the practice of law at Crawfordsville, Indiana, his present home. He was at one time the state geologist of Indiana. Mr. Thompson is a nature-intimate, and his lyrics of “wild life” have a rare freshness and charm.

Of “An Incident of War” the author says: “The poem has no exact model of fact; I got it out of my composite impression of war as I experienced it.”

33. THE BLACK REGIMENT. By George Henry Boker.

George Henry Boker, poet and diplomat, and perhaps best known as the author of the play, “Francesca da Rimini,” was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 6, 1823. He was successively United States Minister to Russia and Turkey. He died in Philadelphia, January 2, 1890.

“The Black Regiment” commemorates the charge of the First and Third Louisiana Native Guards at Port Hudson, May 27, 1863. Of the bearing of the negro soldiers in that action General Banks spoke in the highest terms in reporting to General Halleck. “Their conduct,” he wrote, “was heroic. No troops could be more determined or more daring. They made, during the day, three charges upon the batteries of the enemy, suffering very heavy losses, and holding their position at nightfall with the other troops on the right of our line. The highest commendation is bestowed upon them by all the officers in command on the right.”

In her “Camp-Fire and Memorial Poems,” Mrs. Kate Brownlee Sherwood (see note on “Thomas at Chickamauga”) has paid an eloquent tribute to the valor of the “Black Regiment.”

34. GREENCASTLE JENNY. By Helen Gray Cone.

Helen Gray Cone, one of the most gifted of our women poets of to-day, was born in New York City, March 8, 1859. She is a member of the faculty of the Normal College of New York City.

The story of “Greencastle Jenny” was told by Colonel William R. Aylett, who succeeded General Armistead (see “High Tide at Gettysburg”) as commander of his brigade, at a reunion of the Blue and Grey at Gettysburg, in 1887. Miss Cone believes that the girl’s name is not known.

Greencastle is a small town in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, not far from the Maryland line.

=Stanza 1.= =Longstreet= (James, 1821-), a prominent Confederate general, by some considered the hardest fighter in the rebel service. He served in Mexico, and was active all through the Rebellion. At Gettysburg it is said he endeavored to dissuade Lee from ordering Pickett’s famous charge.

=Stanza 3.= =Pickett= (George Edward, 1825-1875), one of the most gallant Confederate generals. His charge at Gettysburg is historic, and was “the most brilliant feat of arms performed by the Confederates on any field.”

35. JOHN BURNS OF GETTYSBURG. By (Francis) Bret Harte.

(Francis) Bret Harte was born in Albany, New York, August 25, 1839. The years of his early manhood were passed in California. It was in San Francisco, while he was the editor of the _Overland_ _Monthly_ that the publication of “The Luck of Roaring Camp” and “The Heathen Chinee” established his reputation. He has been United States Consul at Crefeld, Germany, and at Glasgow, Scotland. He resigned the latter post in 1885, since when he has resided in and near London.

The following statement, made by a Union officer who served in the Eleventh Corps at the battle of Gettysburg, is taken from Mr. Francis F. Browne’s “Bugle Echoes”:--“During the first day’s fight an old man, in a swallow-tailed coat and battered cylinder hat, came stalking across the fields from the town, and made his appearance at Colonel Stone’s position. With a musket in his hand, and ammunition in his pocket, this venerable citizen asked Colonel Wister’s permission to fight. Wister directed him to go over to the Iron Brigade, where he would be sheltered by the woods; but the old man insisted on going forward to the skirmish line. He was allowed to do so, and continued firing until the skirmishers retired, when he was the last man to leave. He afterward fought with the Iron Brigade, where he was three times wounded. This patriotic and heroic citizen was Constable John Burns, of Gettysburg.”

The battle of Gettysburg was fought July 1, 2, and 3, 1863.

=Line 11.= =Lee.= See “Barbara Frietchie.”

=l. 14.= =Meade= (George Gordon, 1815-1872), the commander of the Union army at Gettysburg. He served in the Mexican and Seminole Wars, and distinguished himself at Antietam and Fredericksburg. He was at the head of various military departments after the war.

=l. 100.= =Navarre.= See Macaulay’s ballad, “Ivry.”

36. HIGH TIDE AT GETTYSBURG. By Will Henry Thompson.

Will Henry Thompson (brother of Maurice Thompson; see “An Incident of War,” and “The Ballad of a Little Fun”), a lawyer and poet residing in Seattle, Washington, was born in Calhoun county, Georgia, March 10, 1848. Mr. Thompson was a Confederate soldier, and his “High Tide at Gettysburg” is one of the finest poems inspired by the Civil War.

“High Tide at Gettysburg,” the day of Pickett’s charge, was the last day of that memorable battle, July 3, 1863.

=Stanza 2.= =Lee.= See “Barbara Frietchie.”

=Pickett.= See “Greencastle Jenny.”

=Stanza 3.= =Shiloh.= See “Johnston at Shiloh.”

=Chickamauga.= See “Thomas at Chickamauga.”

=Stanza 4.= =Pettigrew=, (James Johnson) a Confederate brigadier-general who was mortally wounded in Pickett’s charge. He was a native of North Carolina (1828-1863).

=Waterloo.= June 18, 1815.

=Stanza 5.= =Kemper= (James Lamson, 1823-), a Confederate brigadier-general, severely wounded and captured at Gettysburg. He has been governor of Virginia.

=Garnett= (Richard Brooke, 1819-1863), a Confederate brigadier-general who fell at Gettysburg.

=Armistead= (Lewis Addison, 1817-1863), a Confederate brigadier-general in Pickett’s division, who was mortally wounded in the famous charge.

=Stanza 7.= =Doubleday= (Abner, 1819-1893), a Federal major-general of volunteers, whose division was active in repulsing Pickett’s charge. It was he who fired the first gun in defense of Fort Sumter.

For another rendering of this battle in verse see Edmund Clarence Stedman’s “Gettysburg” (Complete Poems.).

37. THOMAS AT CHICKAMAUGA. By Kate Brownlee Sherwood.

Kate Brownlee Sherwood, a poet and journalist of Toledo, Ohio, who has written a number of successful war lyrics and memorial poems, was born in Bedford Springs, Pennsylvania, September 14, 1841.