Intrigued by the verses inscribed on the monument to honor the dead at the Perryville Battlefield, I surfed the Web for reliable sources. I discovered that Abram Joseph Ryan (1839-1886) wrote one quatrain consisting of two lines extracted from his poem "
The Sword of Robert Lee," and that Theodore O'Hara (1822-1867) wrote the other three quatrains. No doubt that the people who erected the monument in 1902 chose the words for the relevance and emotional gravitas of their day.
Both men seemed interesting.
Project Gutenberg has a copy of
a tribute to Ryan written by John Moran. The
Catholic Encyclopedia notes that O'Hara "wrote little of special merit" except the poems from which came the quatrains inscribed on the Perryville monument, "
The Bivouac of the Dead," and a second poem that became popular, "A Dirge for the Brave Old Pioneer."
Father Abram Joseph Ryan.
Theodore O'Hara
The area of Lexington in this picture taken from the air shows
the undulating hills that reflect the countryside in Kentucky
where battles were fought during the American Civil War.
One way to Perryville, the (nail-biting) curving Highway 68.
Old trees grace the hallowed grounds of the battlefield.
[ . . . ]
Nor braver bled for a brighter land,
Nor brighter land had cause so grand,
[ . . . ]
From "The Sword of Robert Lee" by Abram Joseph Ryan.
[ . . . ]
On Fame's eternal camping-ground
their silent tents are spread,
and glory guards with solemn round
the bivouac of the dead.
[ . . . ]
From "The Bivouac of the Dead," by Theodore O'Hara.
[ . . . ]
Nor shall your glory be forgot
while fame her record keeps,
or honor points the hallowed spot
where valor proudly sleeps.
[ . . . ]
From "The Bivouac of the Dead," by Theodore O'Hara.
[ . . . ]
Nor wreck, nor change, or winter's blight
nor time's remorseless doom,
shall dim one ray of holy light
that gilds your glorious tomb.
[ . . . ]
From "The Bivouac of the Dead," by Theodore O'Hara.
The monument in May, 2012, on a foggy day.
Rest in peace, dear fallen.
