The Sisseton weekly standard. (Sisseton, Roberts County, S.D.) 1892-1929, 1905-05-26

might never nave arisen nau lle cir
cumstance giving rise to the writing
OF the poem been generally known. In
deed. the editor of the Atlantic wrote
to Mr.. Finch before publishing the
poem and asked him if he could not
incorporate the Tribune dispatch into
the poem and make it form the first
stanZa. Mr. Finch tried to do this,
but the result yas unsatisfactory, and
the poem was published as originally
written. We are able to give the first
stanza:
by the flow OF the inland river.
When the fleets of iron have fled.
Where the blades of the ave-grass
=. Asleep are the ranks of the dead;
Under the sod and the dew.
Waiting the judgment day;
Under the one. the Blue
Under the other. the Gray"
"Sherman's March to the Sea-"
A war song once heard much often
er than it has been heard in recent
years was "Sherman's March to the
Sea- This stirring song was written
by S. H. M. Byers, native of Penn
sylvania, but now resident of Des
Moines, la. We have from his own
pen the following account of how he
happened to write this song:
cit was the middle of November,
1864 Sherman's great army, after
months of fighting. had captured the
city of Atlanta in Georgia. One morn
ing the news was sent about the
North that Atlanta had been blown
up, and that Sherman, with $4,000 SOL
diers and many cannon, had cut loose
from his base and was marching, no.
body knew where. His soldiers had,
in fact, started on that wonderful
campaign toward the ocean which had
for its object the cutting in two of the
southern confederacy. President Lin
coin even did not know at what point
by the sea his 'bluecoats would come
out but he had many ships of war
sailing up and down the coast watch
ing for them, ready to help them and
to give them supplies. These ships
fired cannon every day and sent up
rockets at night to let Shermans sol
diers know they were waiting for
them. In the North many thought
Sherman's army was lost in the for
ests and swamps of Georgia. Not one
word of news came from them for
weeks. But all this time they were
successfully fighting their way
through forests, across plantations
and rivers and marching toward the
ocean. Great CONSERVATION set in
throughout the South, for no one
knew what town or city would be next
to fall.
ut so happened that the town of
Columbia, the capital of South Caro-
lima. many prisoners of war from the
North were fastened up inside high
walled prison pen. The prisoners were
all officers and 500 in number. Vivid
ly l still recall how we prisoners
longed and prayed that Sherman's
army might pass our way, take the
city and release us. Alas, it passed
far to our right, forty miles away. We
prisoners were allowed no news from
Snerman's army. We could only guess
from the scowls of our guards or bv
overheard remarks that all was going
bad with the confederacy.
Two officers and myself slept in a
little cold wedge tent 1t was mid
winter, and our rations were scarce.
Once l persuaded an old negro, who
was permitted to come in and sell us
a little bread, to bring US some news
He complied by secreting a copy Of
the morning paper inside a loaf of
bread. It did not tell much: but .se-