The daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1884-1884, 1884-05-30
OUR SLEEPING PATRIOTS.

OUR SLEEPING PATRIOTS.
Con flames eternal camping ground
Their silent tents are spread,
And glory guards with solemn round
The bivouac of the dead"
So long as there shall remain . PEN
sion roll, SO long as there shall burn
within the hearts Of the present gen.
Grafton spark of true patriotic fire,
there will be those who, upon the re-
currcnce of this day, will gather into
companies at the call of the fife and
drum, and march beneath the folds of
the starry banner, with hands full of
flowers and hearts full of gratitude to
where floats the spectre emblem DER
silent tents-to where sleeps those
whose hands were SO bravely lifted i'm
the defense of all that an unselfish pa
triot holds dear.
And l saw phantom army come,
With never q sound OF fife or drum,
But keeping time to o throbbing hum
OF wailing and lamentations;
The martyred heroes of Malvern Hill,
OF Gettysburg and Charlottesville,
The men whose wasted figures fill
The patriot graves of the nation.
And there came the nameless dead-thc
men
Who persisted In fever swamp and fen,
The slowly starved of the prison-pep;
And, marching beside the others,
Came the dusky martyrs OF Pillows fight,
With limbs enfranchsed and bearing
bright;
Ithought-perhaps twas the pale moon
They looked as white as their brothers!
AS will be seen by the roll published
yesterday the silent bivouac of yonder
prairies' swell are but few in number,
yet the story of their lives, the value
of their example, commands our hon.
age as strongly as if their silent tents
were numbered by the thousand.
And each year there have been those
of Wichita who have not failed in TAX
ing part in this beautifully impress
i've ceremony.
Some fell i'm the din of the battle,
BY minnie balls shot through the heart,
And others from dark rebel prisons,
BY angels were called to depart,
We know that our lost ones are happy,
They were faithful to country and God;
But our hearts fOndly yearn for the presence
Ofour soldier boys, under the sod.
Then let us scatter flowers upon the
graves of these sleeping comrades.
at was victory, but it cost us dear,
and the memory of their deeds should
not only arouse our sympathy, but
call forth our patriotism" 1t was a
victory, but at what cost many such a
Roll Call' as the following attests:
''Corporal Green - the orderly cried.
"Here ~ was the answer, loud and clear,
From the lips of the soldier who stood
near;
And "Here!" was the word the next re-
piled.
"Cyrus Drew! !" then silence fell
This time no answer followed the call;
Only his rear man had seen him fall,
Killed or wounded, he could not tell.
There they stood iu the failing light,
Those men of battle, with grave, dark
looks,
As plain to be read as open books,
While slowly gathered the shades of night.
nc lcru on the nillslue was splaSneu Win
blood,
And down in the corn where the peoples
grew,
Were redder stains than the peoples
knew;
And crimson-died was the rivers flood.
For the foe had crossed the other side,
That day, in the face of murderOus fire,
That swept them down in its terrible ire,
And their life-blood went to color the tide,
Herbert Kline!" At the call there came
Two stalwart soldiers into the line.
Bearing between them this Herbert Kline,
Wounded and bleeding to answer his name.
"Herev'
"liiram Kerrv'-but no man replied.
They were brothers, these two; the sad
wind sighed,
And shudder crept through the corn-feld
near.
''Ephraim Deane !''-then a soldier spoke !;
"Deane carried our regiments colors,"
he said;
where our ensign was shot. l left him
dead,
just after the enemy wavered and broke.
"Close TO the roadside his body lies;
Ipaused a moment, and gave him drink
He murmured his mothers name, think,
And death came with it, and closed his
eyes,
Twas victory; yes, but it cost us dear
For that company's roll, when called at
night,
or hundred men who went into the
fight.
Numbered but twenty that answered
'Here!"