The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1901-03-29

WAS THEO30;IE ',''tNKl'S .HIyOU ,t,
or IiIE DE.lD."


OF tho immortal poem, "'rhe Eivnuuc
Of the Dral,H aud ~ O'llura WAS my
personal friend and assistant in the
ndjntant generals otlico Of the Ken.
tucky dlEi,!nN, CummanNcI hv Major
General E;yc!rurldgc, take pleas
nro in scud:uG Nuu an extract from
tho article, with the full poem, which
l have caIrird in my notebook ever
slnco the war.
1t is worthy Of record that this
son Of tho Sonth prodncrd tho one
perfect and universal martial cnlnAy
that the world has known, aud that
South hud been absolutely unmiud
ful Of this fact. The first Of these
statements i proven by the fact that
without any advertisement or cx-
ploitutions, tho wonderful words
have, III tho fifty years since they
were written, prrmeatrd tho whole
world, and been laid hold Oh 10y Eug-
iish speaking peopl" every where, to
celebrate their houorcd dead who
passed away in battle. Upon Chi
mean b"tll"felds, the resting place
of English heroes is marked by II
great moDument, OH which shine
O'llarn's matcht,Ss words, and vet
Englaud did not know from whom
she borrowed when nho wruro them :
On fumc's eternal camping ground
Their si'rnt tents are slrc;u,
And glory guards, with 5 'icmn round,
The bivouac of tic dead
Perhaps the anonymous charact' +
OF tho poem was blessing, siuce it
ls doubtful if the federal sovernmcnt
Of the United S ates would have us, d
tho lines in such lavish fashion III
lmmortaIizing the dead Of the Union
army, had they hcon recognized us
the product Of the genius Of II sol.
dicr and officer Of the other side. In
any case, they did not know. and
every national cemetery in America
has gained thereby, since they arc
not only the most appropriate but
the only appropriate lines for such a
purpose. ..
Over tho gateway Of tho national
cemetery at Washington the famous,
first stanza is engraved, and there,
as at Antietam and other national
cemeteries the entire poem is repro
duccd, stanza by stanza, on slabs
placed along tho driveway.
O'lIara lies IN the burying grour d
at Frankfort, Ky, with only the H.
scrlption> on Il simple slab Of mart, e
which says:
Th, odoro O. O'Hara,
M"jo, A. d. G.,
Died Juno &, 1867.
Below is copy Of his poem in full,
written on occasion Of the removal
Of tho Kentucky dead from NJ, xicc
tD their native State after tho wal
with that country.
John A. Bnckncr,
THE HIVOUAC OF TILE DEAD.
(Wrilten by Theodore OH ara in 1877.
Toe mulli d drums sad roll has beat
Theso dicr's last tattoo;
No more on Iifc's parade shall meet
That brave and fallen few
On fame eternal camping ground
Their silent tents arc spr, ad,
And gloiy guards, with solemn round
Thebivouac Of the dead.
NJ rumor Of the foes advance,
! Now swrlls upon the wind
NJ troubled though, at midnight haunts
OF hvcd ones left behind;
No vision Of the morrow's strife
Ia" warriors dream alarms:
No hraying horn nor screaming fife
At dawn shall call to arms.
Their shivcrcd swords arc red with rus T.
Their plumcd heads are bowed;
TF cir naughty banner, trailcd in dust
Is now their martial shroud,
And pcntcous funeral tears have
washed
The rcd stains from each brow,
And the proud forms, hy battle gushtd
A'e free ON anguish COW.
Tnc ncighing troop, tho 4 ,shing blade
The bng'e's stirring blast;
TIE charge. the dreadful cannonade
The din and shout, are passed:
Mr. wars wild not" nor glory's peal