The Weekly Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, O. [Ohio]) 1861-1???, 1866-03-16

Who bore the aag--who won the day9
The young, proud manhood OF the land.
Called iroin the forge and plow away,
They seized the weapons of the fray
With eager but untutored haud; ..s
They swarmed DER all the roads that led boot.
To where the peril hottest burned .-
by night, by day, their hurrying tread .
Still southward to the struggle sped,
Nor ever from their purpose turned.
Why tell how long the contest hung,
Now crowned with hope, and now depressed;
And how the varying balance swung,
Until, like gold in furnace flung,
The truth grew stronger for The test
Twas our own blood we had to meet; i
Twas with full peers our swords we crossed
Till in the march, assault, retreat, aa ..I
And in the school of stern defeat . ...,.
We learned success at bloody cost. .-...t
Oh, comrades Of the camp and deck l
All that is left by pitying Fate no ff n"'
OF those who bore through fire aud wreck,
With sinewy arm and stubborn neck, .. "a
His flag whose birth we celebrate y
Oh, men whose names forever bright ~
On histoIy's golden tablets graved - ~
Bv land, by sea, waged the fight Y.
What guerdon will ycu ask tonight t.I ..H
For service done, for perils brayed ~
The char,ing lines no more we see,
No more we hear the din of strife, IT
Nor under every greenwood tree, VI
Stretched in their lifes great agony,
Are those who wait the surgeons knife; al
No more the dreadful stretchers drip, y
The joting ambulances groan;
No more, while all the senses slip, y
Wo hear from the soon silent lip ~
The prayer for death as balm alone <
And We, who on the seas blue breast,
And down the rivers of the land,
With clouds Of thunder as a crest
WIar ngkfli
Wars lightnings yielded in your haudl
fe, too, released, no longer feel rl1 = .d
The threat of battle, storm, and rock
Torpedpes grating on the keel,
While the strained sides with broadsides reel
And turrets feel the dnting shock.
Joint saviors OF the land To-day, ,...rt .
What guerdon ask You of the land
No boon too great for you to pray
What can it give that could repay
The men we miss from our worn band?
The men who lie in trench and swamp,
The dead who rock beneath the wave
The brother-sous of march and camp, .i
Bright spirits each shining lamp,
Teaching onr children to be brave!
And thou, Great Shade in whom was nursed
The germ and grandeur Of our land
In peace, IN war, in reverence first,
Who taught our infancy 10 burst 4g i
The Tightening yoke of Dritain's hand ,
iu'hi wv hblu NticStlbl nENI
VIII join the prayer we make to-day
Homes for the crippled in the fight, as.
And what Of life is left made bright
BY all that gratitude can pay"
Homes for the men we ask, implore;
The brave who limbs and vigor gaye, f.
That North and South from shore to shore,
One free, rich, bOundless country DER,
The flag of Washington should wave
The flag that first-the day recall
Long years ago, one summer morn,
Flashed up DER independence Hall,
meteor messenger to all,
That new Nation here was born
liE 1.iaor 40 ~ ,rf ra .l
Oh, wives and daughters of the landl rsr.-.
To every gentler impulse true, ~. f..f l1l
To you we raise the invoking hand, ,.-.. ...
Take pity on our stricken band,
THESE demi gods disguised in blue
More sweet than COO of pairing birds ''f.' Hr
Your voice when urging gentle deeds,
And power and beauty clothe her words
A west wind through the hearts thrilled chords
When woman's voice for pity pleads,
To you leave tho soldiers DOOM mu' q
Your glstening eyes assure me right; s'
Oh, think through manyia night of goom, o.
When round you all was light aud bloom,
And preparing for the fight,
The soldier bade bis fancy roam '" .'A'
Far from the foes battalions proud Ht ~ n 3
From camps, and hot steeds' champng foam,
Anu lOnulY ON your DFeaSt nv liDmH 'lf .. .THp
The forehead of his spirit bowed! ..g .lt
Teach those who toll in gildGd seats,
With nodding plume and iewcled gown, 'i
Boosting a pedigree that dates 1a"s Toy aE 'tt,
Back % the men who swayed the fates rr.
When thou vert battling Britam's crown, I'd ,
That ere the world a century swims ..... ......
Through time This poor, blue-coated host
With brevet rank Of shattered limbs,
VIII swell the fame IN choral hymns 20 'It
And be of pride the proudest boast q. gEIra
Cur cause was holy TO the hight r-s ,,4l +.
or holiest Cause to manhood given;
For Peace and Liberty to smiIe.
And while the warm blood bounded bright, p NJ
For these to die, it called by Heaven 1.. -
The dead are cared fOr--iu the clay I.f.--.si-
The Rrinuing skull no laurel seeks, -
But for the wounded Of the fray,
1t is through my weak lips to-day
The Order OF the Legion speaks
Oh. by the legions Of the dead ls..r, d
Whose ears even yet cur love may reachj j.s,,
Whose souls in fight or prison fed, t.5
Now swarm In column over head,
Wringing with fire my faltering speech; rl
From stricken fields and ocean caves i l
/ hear their voice and CRY Instead,
Gazing upon our myriad graves, - d,
Be generous to the crippled braves
Who were the comrades Of the dead"