Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-02-01
'.sLL QUIET ALONG THE POTOMAC
TO.NIGHT

QUIET ALONG H POTONAC
TONIGHT"
The original of the following poetic
gem was found in the pocket of a sol
der of the Southern army who died In
camp on the Potomac during our civil
war, and was subsequently published
cry extensively in the journals OF both
the South and the North:
Gan quiet along the Potomac" they say,
ssFxcept now and then a stray picket
Is shot as he walks his beat 70 and ITO,
By a riheman hid in the thieket"
IT'S nothing; q private or two, now and then
viii not count in the news OF a battle;
Not an officer lost-only one of the mep-.
Moaning alone, all alone, the death raIte'
All auiet along the Potomac tonight,
Where the soldier is peacefully dreaming,
Their tents in the rays of the clear autumn
Or the light of the watchfres are cleaning.
a tremulOas sigh as the gentle night wind
Thro' the forest leaves slowly Is creeping
While the stars up above with their ghtternng
Keep gunard-fOr the army is sleeping.
There's only the sound of the lone sentry's
As he tramps from the rock to the fountain,
Thinking of the two on the low trundle bed,
Far away in the cot on the mountains;
His gun falls slack-his face, dark and grim,
CLOVIS gently with memories tender,
As he mutters a prayer for the children asleep
For the mother, may Heaven defend her.
The moon seems to shine as brightly as then,
That night when the love yet unSpoken
Leaped up 10 his lips, and when
Were pledged, to be ever unhroken;
Then drawing his sleeve roughly over MS eyes,
H dashes off tears that are yelling,
And gathers his gun up 10 its place..
AS II to keep down the heart swelling.
He passes the fountain, the blasted pine tree,
The foO;step is tagging and weary,
Yet onward he goes through the broad belt Of
Toward the shades of a forest so dreary.
Harkl Was it the wind that rustled the leaves?
Was il the moonlight so wOndrously flashing?
1t looked like a rihe-THa. Mary good byei"
And the life-blOod is ebbing and splashing.
All quiet along the Potomac tonight,
No sound save the rush of the river;
While soft falls the dew on the face Of the
dead
The picket's off duty foreverI
The authorship of these lines has
long been in dispute, there being
several claimants for the honor. The
weight of evidence now seems to be In
favor of Thaddeus Oliver, of Georgia,
who was killed in battle in 1864, Just
before he would have attained the age
of thirty-seven years. Rev. Hugh F.
Oliver. his son, of Madison, Ga, laid
claim to the authorship for his father
in 1872, and published certain evidence
which led Hon. Alex. 81. Stephens to
address him the following;
81 did not know your father person
ally. but my brother Linton did, and
he has often spoken to me of him IN
the highest terms, and OF his intel
lectual powers and literary attainments.
In my opinion you have fully proven
your fathers authorship to the poem.
which will live forever"
Mr.. Oliver now publishes in the
Savannah Ne,cs under date of Jan. 20,
another letter which supplies impor-
tant evidence in his favor. The first is
from Col. Jno. D. Ashton, of Waynes-
boro, Ca, written under date of the
Cd ult. He states that he knew Thad-
deus Oliver well; that they first met at
the State Convention held at Milledge-
vile IN 1860, and were afterwards
together in the Army of Northern Vir-
ginia; that their regiment was sta
toned at Centreyille, from whence de-
tachments were weekly sent out on dis
tant pickets, almost within bow shot Of
the Potomac, along whose line the
bones of many a gallant Southron rest
Col. Ashton details an incident which
occurred shortly after their return
from Falls Church, hear Alexandria
to Centreville, as follows:
Zone evening while in conversation
with your father on Law and literary
subjects, proposed to read to him SOM
lines 1 had written and published, 1T,
Wilson's New York Zouaves." Afte,
l had finished he appeared TO be alb
sorbed for a moment, then said: "Wel
1 have Just written some lines myself
which ] shall not publish, but, il yo1
viii promise me secrecy, I will rea,
them to you." / promised, and for tn
first time IN my life, heard "An Quie
Along the Potomac Tonight" Ishal
never forget either the occasion or tn
circumstances. He readthe lines with
out unusual feeling until he came t
the picture of the little trundle-bed
when his voice trembled and his eye
filed with tears. y = = / begge,
him at once for a copy, but he ~resolute
" refused. Shortly after, however,
left Virginia for Georgia. The day be
fore my departure 1 prevailed upol
him to comply with my request, "upol
my honor as a soldier" that / woul,
neither read it in the regiment, have i
published, nor mention his name il
connection with its authorship"
Col. Ashton c~onfesses that he onl,
partially kept this promise for h
read the poem to a number of persons
whose names he mentions, and the
adds: ''That your father was the au
thor of the poem there can never be, t
my mind, at least, even the shadow o
a doubt" This testimony ought, i
seems, to settle the question of the au
thorship. 1t is probable, however, tina
other evidence viii eventually follow t.
| confirm Mr.. divers claim.