Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1873-06-04

Four hundred thousand Of the brave
Have made our ransomed soil their grave,
For me and you
Coed friend for me and you
les, sir, I'm the Superintendent, walk in,
please, and have chair
There's heavy fog this morning, and 1t sort O.
Chills the air,
But the sun is breaking through it. and reckon
we may say
That we're going to have beauty this thirtieth
The Lodge why, yes, it's cosy and comforta,
For an old and broken soldier who is used to
takin' it rough
And the Quartermaster- General does all that
can be done
To fix us-and why wouldn't he the war cost
him son
My pet Army? Yes, Lord bless you why,
here they lie in rows
And ! know each soldiers name by heart, as far
as naming goes
That dozen rows out yonder where you see that
pile of stone,
Is the left flank of my army-the brigade of the
"Unk1ocug
But they'll get their share of flowers in the
strewing of to-day
And you'll see some wet eyelashes there this
thrtieth of Nay
For the Union heart claims all of them on this
proud day of ours,
And it doesn't take fancy name to fetch the
tears and flowers
Long service? Well, I've had my share, and
forty yeaes ago.
1 hunted in the everglades to catch the Indian
foe;
1 fought at okee-eho-bee in old Rough and
Ready band,
And tramped five long and weary years through
Floridas' burning sand.
On the field of Palo Alto at Rosaca, too, I
fought
Where the loss of noble fellows made our VIC
tories dearly bought;
In Taylor's ranks at Montery met Ampudia's
crew,
Where the Third went in three hundred and
came out sevcnty-two!
Yes Grant was thereon every field he met the
tawny foe,
From the start at Palo Alto to the halt in Mex
leo
And the boys of our brigade took heart, as to
the front they ran,
At the words of cheer that met them from that
young and gallant man
They tell me he's not changed a bit since he 5
the nations head,
And know that he'll not soon forget our ma
TONS Union dead,
For l read that last year in the storm the thir-
tieth day of May
He scattered flowers at Arlington on Decoration
Day.
Do I find it lonesome? No, sir; sit for many
night
at the foot of that old flagstaff, when the moon
is shining bright,
And the wind is whistling hoarsely, and the
rushing of the blast
Makes the halyards flap gay tattoo against the
towering mast
And my memory gathers round me all the com.
rades brave | knew,
From Bull Run to Appomattox-now reposing
meath the dew
Then / fall asleep and dream of these my com
rades with the dead,
Till waken with the chilliness and tattoo of
led.
Then it makes up for the loneliness, this thir
tieth day of May,
When l meet the same good faces / have seel
here many day
Fathers mothers, sisters, brothers, Uniol
friends, who gladly come
To scatter springs bright flowers Der their los
ones early tomb
All il makes my old frame tremble when ! sc
the falling tear
From eyes that speak the love that brings tn
annual pilgrims here;
And when some stricken mother vents her griC
in accents low,
Then i m hurried back to childhood-ah, God
that's long ago
I'm looking forward, knowing that when II
dead and gone
And in one of these neat grassy rows they plal
the usual stone,
Some true lover of the Union will, with kin
and faithful hand,
Drop roses on the grave of one who fought
save the land
Well, l see the crowd is coming, so we'll ste
out, If you please,
That's my bench, there in the shadow Of thoi
two tall willow trees
There's my crutches-thank you kindly-yo
may help me over the sill
SIR my leg? oh, that Lies buried at the foot
ma - 80