Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1890-09-20
2lst. o. V. vi AT STONE RIVER
BY KATE DRowNLEE SHERWOOD.

| BY KATE BRowNLEE SHERWOOD.
We're you at Stone River? Were you at the fore
| With Ncglcy's Divisin of Rosccrans Corps.
| old Roscy who fought the Stone River campaign
With splcndor that scarcely was equalcd again.
In the center was Thomas, McCook on the right,
With the thudcring bait terirs massing their might,
Our Colonel Ike mad riding on AT the head,
give them hell by the hall acre." that's what
lie said.
Were you at Stone River where Millcr's Brigade
That furious charge upon breckenridge made!
When We cut down Braygs men like u field OF
red clover
The mowers Of death swept unswervingly over!
With the war parson. Moody. and Nicblfng ahead,
And half OF our men lying over there deaf;
And the tcrrors of winter. the hunger and cold
With their pangs at our thruats like the wolves
on the iuld:
We held the reserve: there lav since the night
The New ear was born in the tlrOrr Of the fight !;
l5y our campfire We eagerly baked our sea ut cake
tfor She half ration issue keen appe tite makes
When an order rang out like the horn in th hunt:
attention. fall in! double quick TO the 'front.'
In the turmoil and tumut Oi sullen retreat.
Van Cleve sought the rear as we sprang to our Feet
A halt at the river; on Breckenridge came,
Like the shrek of the tempest,with thunder and
flame,
The musketry flash and the battery roar,
Bore down from the right and beat hard at the 20 re
His front srikcsthc ford they are coming on;
VIII he push up the heights; II we doubt,wc aro
Now up, bcys, and at them" A thunderbolt we!
AS we dashed in the river right up to the knee.
70 the elbow, to the srmpit, yet splashing go,
Cur guns firing high, and 3rSgg guns firing low,
But the maxim ie good iEhe N the danger is nigh
I'm God be your trust; but your powde. keep dEy."
Our clothes hey are icen ut our hearts they fire.
And courage grows strong rs the carnage grows
"Charge that batteryl chargcr'Not IN inatant we
And we take sl the guns that are captured thstday.
As the swift swirling storm when the food tide
comes in
Leaps wild on the rocks with its drift and its din
The earth reals with terror the rocking wrecks ia II,
And the wide wingsof chaos are clsppIng o'er ell;
Then the cbb-iide rolls out and the undertow
And sh rouds Its pale dead in the shredr OF their
s the foe beat us baci. and we beat back the fee
And the morning cfErief hushcd the clsIg OF the
blow.
We were men; We were patriots; -four years and
We cung to our coles- we fought ct the fore
From that daring Kencwha fxed-oayenets on
Then our old smooth bore mus ketg we found
worse than nauglt
To that vast Chickamanga volcano Of Game,
That Tapped up two armies as clinching they
came;
] Ia the siege of Atlanasthc March to the Sea;
Through tie twin Ca=olinas where Sherman
scourged Lee.
Andyct do you know that for genius to fight
Cold. hunger aud danger by day and by night.
That stone River campaign stauds unique and
alone.
\ nd the heroes 1t hcwcd are eternal as stone.
There were larkcr and 1Iazcn and Sandy Nc
Cook.
And Thomas and Stanley and Beatty! And. look,
'ris the hero of Winchester iallOping down.
Phil Shcridcn. earning his dive Forks rcnOwn.
Were Nou Mt Stone River: think you will say
We earned all the lnurcs we won on that day;
The light to stand frat in tlir contests thatcame,
The prct lgc of powers, the poems of fame
In the palGs of the prison. The. dales of the dead
Our hosts here gone down hut cause Is ahead.
We're you at Stone River: Do yOu ever recall
all.
Toledo Ohio Juno 1883.