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WAR POETRY OF THE SOUTH
WAR POETRY OF THE SOUTH VARIOUS Edited By
William Gilmore Simms LL. D.
Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1866
By RICHARDSON & CO.
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the
Southern District of New York.
Press of Geo. C. Rand & Avery
540 Broadway.
To
The Women of the South
I Inscribe This Volume
They have lost a cause but they have made a triumph! They have shown
themselves worthy of any manhood; and will leave a record which shall
survive all the caprices of time. They have proved themselves worthy of
the best womanhood and in their posterity will leave no race which
shall be unworthy of the cause which is lost or of the mothers sisters
and wives who have taught such noble lessons of virtuous effort and
womanly endurance.
W.G.S.
Preface.
Several considerations have prompted the editor of this volume in the
compilation of its pages. It constitutes a contribution to the national
literature which is assumed to be not unworthy of it and which is
otherwise valuable as illustrating the degree of mental and art
development which has been made in a large section of the country under
circumstances greatly calculated to stimulate talent and provoke
expression through the higher utterances of passion and imagination.
Though sectional in its character and indicative of a temper and a
feeling which were in conflict with nationality yet now that the States
of the Union have been resolved into one nation this collection is
essentially as much the property of the whole as are the captured cannon
which were employed against it during the progress of the late war. It
belongs to the national literature and will hereafter be regarded as
constituting a proper part of it just as legitimately to be recognized by
the nation as are the rival ballads of the cavaliers and roundheads by
the English in the great civil conflict of their country.
The emotional literature of a people is as necessary to the philosophical
historian as the mere details of events in the progress of a nation. This
is essential to the reputation of the Southern people as illustrating
their feelings sentiments ideas and opinions--the motives which
influenced their actions and the objects which they had in contemplation
and which seemed to them to justify the struggle in which they were
engaged. It shows with what spirit the popular mind regarded the course of
events whether favorable or adverse; and in this aspect it is even of
more importance to the writer of history than any mere chronicle of facts.
The mere facts in a history do not always or often indicate the true
_animus_ of the action. But in poetry and song the emotional
nature is apt to declare itself without reserve--speaking out with a
passion which disdains subterfuge and through media of imagination and
fancy which are not only without reserve but which are too coercive in
their own nature too arbitrary in their influence to acknowledge any
restraints upon that expression which glows or weeps with emotions that
gush freely and freshly from the heart. With this persuasion we can also
forgive the muse who in her fervor is sometimes forgetful of her art.
And yet it is believed that the numerous pieces of this volume will be
found creditable to the genius and culture of the Southern people and
honorable as in accordance with their convictions. They are derived from
all the States of the late Southern Confederacy and will be found
truthfully to exhibit the sentiment and opinion prevailing more or less
generally throughout the whole. The editor has had special advantages in
making the compilation. Having a large correspondence in most of the
Southern States he has found no difficulty in procuring his material.
Contributions have poured in upon him from all portions of the South; the
original publications having been in a large number of cases subjected
to the careful revision of the several authors. It is a matter of great
regret with him that the limits of the present volume have not suffered
him to do justice to and find a place for many of the pieces which fully
deserve to be put on record. Some of the poems were quite too long for his
purpose; a large number delayed by the mails and other causes were
received too late for publication. Several collections from Louisiana
North Carolina and Texas especially are omitted for this reason. Many
of these pieces are distinguished by fire force passion and a free play
of fancy. Briefly his material would enable him to prepare another
volume similar to the present which would not be unworthy of its
companionship. He is authorized by his publisher to say that in the event
of the popular success of the present volume he will cheerfully follow up
its publication by a second of like style character and dimensions.
The editor has seen with pleasure the volume of "Rebel Rhymes" edited by
Mr. Moore and of "South Songs" by Mr. De Leon. He has seen besides a
single number of a periodical pamphlet called "The Southern Monthly"
published at Memphis Tenn. This has been supplied him by a contributor.
He has seen no other publications of this nature though he has heard of
others and has sought for them in vain. There may be others still
forthcoming; for in so large a field with a population so greatly
scattered as that of the South it is a physical impossibility adequately
to do justice to the whole by any one editor; and each of the sections
must make its own contributions in its own time and according to its
several opportunities. There will be room enough for all; and each I
doubt not will possess its special claims to recognition and reward.
His own collections made during the progress of the war from the
newspapers chiefly of South Carolina Virginia and Georgia were
copious. Of these many have been omitted from this collection which he
trusts will some day find another medium of publication. He has been able
to ascertain the authorship in many cases of these writings; but must
regret still that so many others under a too fastidious delicacy deny
that their names should be made known. It is to be hoped that they will
hereafter be supplied. To the numerous ladies who have so frankly and
generously contributed to this collection by sending originals and making
copies he begs to offer his most grateful acknowledgments.
A large proportion of the pieces omitted are of elegiac character. Of this
class he could find a place for such pieces only as were dedicated to the
most distinguished of the persons falling in battle or such as are marked
by the higher characteristics of poetry--freshness thought and
imagination. But many of the omitted pieces are quite worthy of
preservation. Much space has not been given to that class of songs camp
catches or marching ballads which are so numerous in the "Rebel Rhymes"
of Mr. Moore. The songs which are most popular are rarely such as may
claim poetical rank. They depend upon lively music and certain
spirit-stirring catchwords and are rarely worked up with much regard
to art or even propriety. Still many of these should have found a place
in this volume had adequate space been allowed the editor. It is his
desire as well as that of the publisher to collect and bind together
these fugitives in yet another publication. He will preserve the
manuscripts and copies of all unpublished pieces with the view to this
object--keeping them always subject to the wishes of their several
writers.
At the close he must express the hope that these poems will be
recognized not only as highly creditable to the Southern mind but as
truly illustrative if not justificatory of that sentiment and opinion
with which they have been written; which sentiment and opinion have
sustained their people through a war unexampled in its horrors in modern
times and which has fully tested their powers of endurance as well as
their ability in creating their own resources under all reverses and
amidst every form of privation.
W.G.S.
Brooklyn September 8 1866.
Contents.
Ethnogenesis _Henry Timrod_
God Save the South _George H. Miles_
"You can never win them back" _Catherine M. Warfield_
The Southern Cross _E. K. Blunt_
South Carolina _S. Henry Dickson_
The New Star _B. M. Anderson_
The Irrepressible Conflict _Tyrtaeus_
The Southern Republic _Olivia T. Thomas_
"Is there then no Hope?" _Charleston Courier_
The Fate of the Republic _Charleston Mercury_
The Voice of the South _Charleston Mercury_
The Oath of Freedom _James Barron Hope_
The Battle Cry of the South _James R. Randall_
Sonnet _Charleston Mercury_
Seventy-six and Sixty-one _J. W. Overall_
"Reddato Gladium" _Richmond Whig_
"Nay keep the Sword" _Richmond Whig_
Coercion _John R. Thompson_
A Cry to Arms _Henry Timrod_
Jackson the Alexandria Martyr _W. H. Holcombe_
The Martyr of Alexandria _James W. Simmons_
The Blessed Union _Charleston Mercury_
The Fire of Freedom _Richmond paper_
Hymn to the National Flag _Mrs. M. J. Preston_
Sonnet--moral of party _Charleston Mercury_
Our Faith in '61 _A. J. Requier_
"Wouldst thou have me love thee?" _Alex. B. Meek_
Enlisted to-day _Anonymous_
"My Maryland" _James R. Randall_
The Boy Soldier _Lady of Savannah_
The good old cause _John D. Phelan_
Manassas _Catherine M. Warfield_
Virginia _Ibid._
The War-Christian's Thanksgiving _S. Teackle Wallis_
Sonnet _Charleston Mercury_
Marching to Death _J. Herbert Sass_
Charleston _Henry Timrod_
Charleston _Paul H. Hayne_
"Ye Men of Alabama" _Jno. D. Phelan_
Nec temere nec timida _Annie C. Ketchum_
Dixie _Albert Pike_
The Old Rifleman _Frank Ticknor_
Battle Hymn _Charleston Mercury_
Kentucky she is sold _J. R. Barrick_
The Ship of State _Charleston Mercury_
"In his blanket on the ground" _Caroline H. Gervais_
The Mountain Partisan _Charleston Mercury_
The Cameo Bracelet _James R. Randall_
Zollicoffer _Henry L. Flash_
Beauregard _Catherine M. Warfield_
South Carolina _Gossypium_
Carolina _Henry Timrod_
My Mother Land _Paul H. Hayne_
Joe Johnston _Jno. R. Thompson_
Over the River _Jane T. H. Cross_
The Confederacy _Jane T. H. Cross_
President Davis _Jane T. H. Cross_
The Rifleman's Fancy Shot _Anonymous_
"All quiet along the Potomac"
Prize Address _Henry Timrod_
The Battle of Richmond _Geo. Herbert Sass_
The Guerrillas _S. Teackle Wallis_
A Farewell to Pope _Jno. R. Thompson_
Sonnet--Public Prayer _South Carolinian_
Battle of Belmont _J.A. Signaigo_
Vicksburg _Paul H. Hayne_
Ballad of the War _G.H. Sass_
The two Armies _Henry Timrod_
The Legion of Honor _H.L. Flash_
Clouds in the West _A.J. Requier_
Georgia! My Georgia! _Carrie B. Sinclair_
Song of the Texan Rangers _Anonymous_
Kentucky required to yield her arms _Anonymous_
There's life in the old land yet _J.B. Randall_
"Tell the boys the War is ended" _Emily J. Moore_
The Southern Cross _St. George Tucker_
England's Neutrality _John R. Thompson_
Close the Ranks _J.L. O'Sullivan_
The Sea-kings of the South _Ed. G. Bruce_
The Return _Anonymous_
Our Christmas Hymn _J. Dickson Bruns_
Charleston _Miss E.B. Cheesborough_
Gathering Song _Annie Chambers Ketchum_
Christmas _Henry Timrod_
A Prayer for Peace _S. Teackle Wallis_
The Band in the Pines _Jno. Esten Cooke_
At Fort Pillow _James R. Randall_
From the Rapidan _Anonymous_
Song of our Southland _Mrs. Mary Ware_
Sonnets _Paul H. Hayne_
Hospital Duties _Charleston Courier_
They cry Peace Peace! _Mrs. Alethea S. Burroughs_
Ballad--"What! have ye thought?" _Charleston Mercury_
Missing _Anonymous_
Ode--"Souls of Heroes" _Charleston Mercury_
Jackson _Henry L. Flash_
Captain Maffit's Ballad _Charleston Mercury_
Melt the Bells _F. T. Rockett_
John Pelham _James R. Randall_
"Ye batteries of Beauregard" _J. R. Barrick_
"When Peace returns" _Olivia T. Thomas_
The Right above the Wrong _J. W. Overall_
Carmen Triumphale _Henry Timrod_
The Fiend Unbound _Charleston Mercury_
The Unknown Dead _Henry Timrod_
Ode--"Do ye quail?" _W. Gilmore Simms_
Ode--"Our City by the Sea" _Ibid_.
The Lone Sentry _J. R. Randall_
My Soldier Brother _Sallie E. Bollard_
Seaweeds _Annie Chambers Ketchum_
The Salkehatchie _Emily J. Moore_
The Broken Mug _Jno. Esten Cooke_
Carolina _Anna Peyre Dinnies_
Our Martyrs _Paul H. Hayne_
Cleburne _Mrs. M. A. Jennings_
The Texan Marseillaise _James Harris_
"O tempora! O mores" _J. Dickson Bruns_
Our Departed Comrades _J. M. Shirer_
No Land like Ours _J. R. Barrick_
The Angel of the Church _W. Gilmore Simms_
Ode--"Shell the old City" _Ibid_.
The Enemy shall never reach your City _Charleston Mercury_
War Waves _Catherine G. Poyas_
Old Moultrie _Ibid_.
Only one killed _Julia L. Keyes_
Land of King Cotton _J. A. Signaigo_
If you love me _Ibid_.
The Cotton Boll _Henry Timrod_
Battle of Charleston Harbor _Paul H. Hayne_
Fort Wagner _W. Gilmore Simms_
Sumter in Ruins _Ibid_.
Morris Island _Ibid_.
Promise of Spring _South Carolinian_
Spring _Henry Timrod_
Chickamauga _Richmond Sentinel_
In Memoriam--Bishop Polk _Viola_
Stonewall Jackson _H. L. Flash_
Stonewall Jackson--a Dirge _Anonymous_
Beaufort _W. J. Grayson_
The Empty Sleeve _J. R. Bagby_
Cotton Burners' Hymn _Memphis Appeal_
Reading the List _Anonymous_
His Last Words _Anonymous_
Charge of Hagood's Brigade _J. Blythe Allston_
Carolina _Jno. A Wagener_
Savannah _Alethea S. Burroughs_
"Old Betsy" _John Killian_
Awake! Arise! _G. W. Archer_
Albert Sydney Johnston _Mary Jervey_
Eulogy of the Dead _B. F. Porter_
The Beaufort Exile _Anonymous_
Somebody's Darling _Miss Maria LaCoste_
John Pegram _W. Gordon McGabe_
Captives Going Home _Anonymous_
Heights of Mission Ridge _J. A. Signaigo_
Our Left at Manassas _Anonymous_
On to Richmond _J. R. Thompson_
Turner Ashby _Ibid_.
Captain Latane _Ibid_.
The Men _Maurice Bell_
The Rebel Soldier _Kentucky Girl_
Battle of Hampton Roads _Ossian D. Gorman_
"Is this a time to dance?" _Anonymous_
The Maryland Line _J. D McCabe Jr._
I give my Soldier Boy a blade _H. M. L._
Sonnet--Avatar of Hell _Anonymous_
Stonewall Jackson's Way _Anonymous_
The Silent March _Anonymous_
Pro Memoria _Ina M. Porter_
Southern Homes in Ruins _R. B. Vance_
Rappahannock Army Song _J. C. McLemore_
Soldier in the Rain _Julia L. Keyes_
My Country _W. D. Porter_
After the Battle _Miss Agnes Leonard_
Our Confederate Dead _Lady of Augusta_
Ye Cavaliers of Dixie _B. F. Porter_
Song of Spring _Jno. A. Wagener_
What the Village Bell said _Jno. C. McLemore_
The Tree the Serpent and the Star _A. P. Gray_
Southern War Hymn _Jno. A. Wagener_
The Battle Rainbow _J. R. Thompson_
Stonewall Jackson _Richmond Broadside_
Dirge for Ashby _Mrs. M. J. Preston_
Sacrifice _Charleston Mercury_
Sonnet _Ibid_.
Grave of A. Sydney Johnston _J. B. Synott_
"Not doubtful of your Fatherland" _Charleston Mercury_
Only a Soldier's grave _S. A. Jonas_
The Guerrilla Martyrs _Charleston Mercury_
"Libera Nos O Domine!" _James Barron Hope_
The Knell shall sound once more _Charleston Mercury_
Gendron Palmer of the Holcombe Legion _Ina M. Porter_
Mumford the Martyr of New Orleans _Ibid_.
The Foe at the Gates--Charleston _J. Dickson Bruns_
Savannah Fallen _Alethea S. Burroughs_
Bull Run--A Parody _Anonymous_
"Stack Arms" _Jos. Blythe Allston_
Doffing the Gray _Lieutenant Falligant_
In the Land where we were dreaming _D. B. Lucas_
Ballad--"Yes build your Walls" _Charleston Mercury_
The Lines around Petersburg _Samuel Davis_
All is gone Fadette--_Memphis Appeal_
Bowing her Head _Savannah Broadside_
The Confederate Flag _Anna Peyre Dinnies_
Ashes of Glory _A. J. Requier_
War Poetry of the South
Ethnogenesis.
By Henry Timrod of S.C.
Written during the meeting of the First Southern Congress at Montgomery
February 1861.
I.
Hath not the morning dawned with added light?
And shall not evening--call another star
Out of the infinite regions of the night
To mark this day in Heaven? At last we are
A nation among nations; and the world
Shall soon behold in many a distant port
Another flag unfurled!
Now come what may whose favor need we court?
And under God whose thunder need we fear?
Thank Him who placed us here
Beneath so kind a sky--the very sun
Takes part with us; and on our errands run
All breezes of the ocean; dew and rain
Do noiseless battle for us; and the Year
And all the gentle daughters in her train
March in our ranks and in our service wield
Long spears of golden grain!
A yellow blossom as her fairy shield
June fling's her azure banner to the wind
While in the order of their birth
Her sisters pass; and many an ample field
Grows white beneath their steps till now behold
Its endless sheets unfold
THE SNOW OF SOUTHERN SUMMERS! Let the earth
Rejoice! beneath those fleeces soft and warm
Our happy land shall sleep
In a repose as deep
As if we lay intrenched behind
Whole leagues of Russian ice and Arctic storm!
II.
And what if mad with wrongs themselves have wrought
In their own treachery caught
By their own fears made bold
And leagued with him of old
Who long since in the limits of the North
Set up his evil throne and warred with God--
What if both mad and blinded in their rage
Our foes should fling us down their mortal gage
And with a hostile step profane our sod!
We shall not shrink my brothers but go forth
To meet them marshalled by the Lord of Hosts
And overshadowed by the mighty ghosts
Of Moultrie and of Eutaw--who shall foil
Auxiliars such as these? Nor these alone
But every stock and stone
Shall help us; but the very soil
And all the generous wealth it gives to toil
And all for which we love our noble land
Shall fight beside and through us sea and strand
The heart of woman and her hand
Tree fruit and flower and every influence
Gentle or grave or grand;
The winds in our defence
Shall seem to blow; to us the hills shall lend
Their firmness and their calm;
And in our stiffened sinews we shall blend
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