Civil War Poetry

VOL. VIII.—No. 383.]

NEW YORK, SATURDAY, APRIL 30, 1864.

$1,00 FOR FOUR MONTHS.
 $3.00 PER YEAR IN ADVANCE.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the Year 1864, by Harper & Brothers, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York.

APRIL 20, I864.

BY PRIVATE MILES O'REILLY

THREE years ago today

'We raised our hands to heaven,

And on the rolls of muster

Our names were thirty-seven ;

There were just a thousand bayonets, And the swords were thirty-seven, As we took the oath of service

With our right hands raised to heaven.

Oh 'twas a gallant day, In memory still adored.

That day of our sun-bright nuptials

With the musket and the sword':
Shrill rang the fifes, the bugles blared,

And beneath a cloudless heaven Twinkled a thousand bayonets,

And the swords were thirty-seven.

Of the thousand stalwart bayonets

Two hundred march today;
Hundreds lie in Virginia swamps,

And hundreds in Maryland clay;
And other hundreds, less happy, drag

Their shattered limbs around.

And envy the deep, long, blessed sleep Of the battle-field's holy ground.

For the swords—one night, a week ago, The remnant, just eleven,

Gathered around a banqueting board With seats for thirty-seven;

There were two limped in on crutches,

And two had each but a hand
To pour the wine and raise the cup

As we toasted "Our flag and land!"

And the room' seemed filled with whispers As we looked at the vacant seats,

And, with choking throats, we pushed aside The rich but untasted meats;

Then in silence we brimmed our glasses,

As we rose up—just eleven,

And bowed as we drank to the loved and the dead Who had made us THIRTY-SEVEN !