Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-06-01

cities and villages, when these heroes went
forth to the dread conflict of war? Inc
heart is overwhelmed and the tongue re
fuses utterance. The wife wept upon her
husbands bosom. the mother clasped her
son to her breast, the lover parted with
his sweetheart. The tears and the fears,
the sorrows and the adiouS. these form
the h"liest and tenderest sacrifices of these
martial heroes in these crucial hours
The armies have now reached the great
battlciields and these heroes are biVouaced
on these historic grounds. The navieS
have sailed the seas and lie anchored
above the watery seas.
Let us in Imagination visit these BIZ
vouaccd armies and anchored navies
on the night before the first great conflict
| of arms. thousand soldiers with human
hearts and loves live a thousand nights in
| one. The angel mother is with her boy in
blue in his snowy tent. The alfectionatc
wife clasps her husband to her bosom: the
sweetheart kisses her lover; the tender
child whispers in its fathers ears sweet
words of love. The mothers, wives. sweet
hearts and children visit the ships at an
lchor and these tender scenes are reenacted
again. How troubled are the dreams OF
| those bvouacked and anchored heroes
those soldiers and sailors. How precious
memories come to them in the nighttime.
How these heroes on the night before the
battle resolve to face the dangers of battle
bravcy and nobly for the loved ones at
home and the nation imperilled. The day
arrives, on land and sea. 1t IS a glofi 3u.;
day and all nature, whispers of love and
life. The tender, holy memories of the
night, with its angel faces and sweet
caresses. fade away The awful conflict
IF war begins The hills and the valleys
are filed with the march and the counter
march Of armed men, the strains Of mar
tial music are heard. The flash Of sabres
glistcn in the sun. The first deadly Volley
the roar of the cannon fills the air with
awful din. The bowels Of hell bclch
forth with lurid glare. 1t rains missiles
of death on every hand. The troops ad-
| N.ln
WAIVER before the awful storm Of shot and
Shell. The riderless horses dash across
the battlefield. The soldiers fall, wounded
and dead, like autumn leaves. The lines
fall back and then retreat. disordered and
defeated. The shout of the victorious enc
my is heard. The midnight message of
death again knocks at a thousand home S
with bloody hands. A thousand hearts
are filled with awful suspense and the cry
loft anguish Eoes up IN tao night.
Lot us retrace our steps to the bloody
battlefield. Here on every hand are dead
heroes. torn and mangled beyond recosni-
ton. The light Of their lives has gone out.
cause. They loved life. The beauties of
field and forest are sweet to them. These
hearts beat with love and aspiration. The
love Of mother, wife, SWeetheart and child
this life. sit Nv their "reminiscences with
their loved ones; they will be buried in the
bloody trenches, in unknown graves, and
will lie there forever. The tender hands of
loved ones cannot sprinkle flowers over
their unknown graves, and the gentle tears
of sorrow cannot bedCW them. but Il
grateful country, in after years will deco
rate their graves with the stars and
stripes and garlands of flowers.
The wounded are here, armless and leg
less with parched lips and anguiShed
brows Some will live. monuments to the
lravages of war, and others will die and lie
in untimely graves. but a grateful country
will remember those who lived and care
scenes and awful SORROWS are but q hint