Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, WRITTEN ON THE DEATH OF OUR BELOVED GENERAL STONEWALL JACKSON, by CAROLINE AUGUSTA BALL


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

WRITTEN ON THE DEATH OF OUR BELOVED GENERAL STONEWALL JACKSON, by                    
First Line: There's a wail of woe on the summer breeze
Last Line: His last victory gained, his rest has won.
Subject(s): American Civil War; Death; Heroism; Jackson, Thomas (stonewall) (1824-1863); United States - History; Dead, The; Heroes; Heroines


There's a wail of woe on the summer breeze,
A cry resounding o'er land and o'er seas,
A lament for the noble, the true, the brave,
Now borne to his rest in a martyr's grave.

There is mourning on Rappahannock's shore,
Where his battle cry will be heard no more;
There is mourning in camp, and cot, and hall,
For the Christian hero, beloved of all.

Ay, death has stricken a ruthless dart,
It is quivering in a nation's heart.
And our country lies bleeding 'neath the blow,
Which has laid our honored chieftain low.

The shout of victory rent the air,
We knew not that it had cost so dear;
The shout of victory is subdued,
For 'twas purchased with our Jackson's blood.

Ah, many fell on that well fought field,
To whom all honor and praises we yield;
But the sun which set on that bloody plain
When Jackson fell, will never rise again.

He won for himself a crown of fame,
He has left behind him a deathless name,
And our children's children will rise and bless
The hero who fell in the wilderness.

But what to him is the voice of fame;
And what to him is the deathless name;
And what are glory and earth's renown,
To him who has won an immortal crown?

We thought the laurel's green wreath to weave,
For him o'er whose death cold form we grieve;
But the gathered laurels must droop and fade,
For on the bier their bright leaves are laid.

Our sunny land is deep veiled in gloom,
Her fair daughters weep o'er our chieftain's doom;
E'en our gallant braves drop the tears of woe,
O'er that well loved form in the dust laid low.

Weep on, but raise the tearful eyes,
To the glorious mansions above the skies,
Where the deeply mourned his warfare done,
His last victory gained, his rest has won.





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