The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-10
From the Kansas city star.


~ ORDERING the walks and drives
n beneath the trees in Arlington
- cemetery, where thousands of
heroes of the nation sleep, tablets of
bronze and iron are placed at intervals.
Upon these tablets stand written guam
trains from America national funeral
drge, lines of that poem of solemn but
martial beauty so often quoted on Deco
ration day, 1.-The Bivouac of the Dead" "
As the visitor pauses in the midst of
the green mounds to read from one of
these tablets the beautiful sentiment
On Fames eternal camping ground
Their silent tents are spread,
And glory guards with solemn round
The bivouac of the dead
he scarce thinks of the author of this
stirring word ina gerry or of how he came
to write the lines that live on after him.
The authors name was Theodore
O'Hara and his greatest day came at
the age of 27, when he wrote this poem.
Today it is not only the national Me-
mortal day ode. but is his own epitaph
as well, for upon the shaft in the Ken
lucky state cemetery at Frankfort, that
marks his last resting place, his lines
are inscribed.
O'Hara was one of those unfortunate
geniuses whose span of life is short and
filled with quickening change of events.
He was born at Danville, Ky, February
II. 1920 the son of Kane O'Hara, a
political refugee from ireland, who fled
-
of the political uprising of 1898. The
elder O'Hara was a man of culture and
brought up his son with a love of the
old masters and a thorough knowledge
of the classics. A college education led
him at 10 into the law office of John
C. Breckenridge, afterwards General
Breckenridge of civil war fame, under
whom he served as chief of staff.
Theodore went to Washington, where
he served as a clerk in the treasury
department. The daily routine was irk-
some to him and his personality hav-
ing impressed men In high places in
Washington at that time, OHara was
made a captain In the army at the out
break of the Mexican war. He lent a
spirit of cheerful exuberance to camp
fires throughout the war and fought
with such gallantry upon the field at
Buena Vista and in other battles that
he was .breveted major for his services
The spirit of the soldier of fortune
was upon OHara, and after the Mexican
war he could not settle down long tc
being organized in Washington in aid OF
the liberation party in Cuba. 1t was al
the time of the Lopez uprising in the
| island and, like other adventurous young
men of his day, O'Hara joined the ex-
| pedition. He commanded one of the regi-
ments that participated in the disastrous
| fight at Cardenas and from that battle
| field they carried him sorely wounded.
But not all of O'Hara's energies were
expended upon the battlefield. He be
came quite widely known in the soutf
| as an editor. He was first in charge oi
| the Mobile Register, owned by John For
sythe, while Forsythe was minister tt
! Mexico. He afterward edited the Louis
vile Times and finally became editor o
his own paper. the Yeoman, In Frankfort
KY. 1t was while he lived and editet
his paper In Frankfort that the occa
| sion arose which has made OHara':
name live.
| We see the man as his biographer:
have pictured him, tall. slender, grace
full, very erect In his carriage and scru
pilousy neat in his dress. He had Z
| fine head and almost classic features
his dark hair had thinned on top: hi'
eyes were dark hazel and full of fir'
and expression. Into his q years of lif'
there had been crowded more stirring
experiences than befall man In life
| time today. Thus we see O'Hara il
| 1S47, when Kentucky determined to homo
its sons who had fallen at Buena Visit,