Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, CHICKAMAUGA: 1898, by ANONYMOUS


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

CHICKAMAUGA: 1898, by                    
First Line: They are camped on chickamauga
Last Line: In the freedom-war of life
Subject(s): "american Civil War;chickamauga, Battle Of (1863);holidays;memorial Day;u.s. - History;" Declaration Day


THEY are camped on Chickamauga!
Once again the white tents gleam
On that field where vanished heroes
Sleep the sleep that knows no dream.
There are shadows all about them
Of the ghostly troops to-day,
But they light the common campfire —
Those who wore the blue and gray.

Where the pines of Georgia tower,
Where the mountains kiss the sky,
On their arms the nation's warriors
Wait to hear the battle-cry.
Wait together, friends and brothers,
And the heroes 'neath their feet
Sleep the long and dreamless slumber
Where the flowers are blooming sweet.

Sentries, pause, yon shadow challenge!
Rock-ribbed Thomas goes that way —
He who fought the foes unyielding
In that awful battle fray.
Yonder pass the shades of heroes,
And they follow where Bragg leads
Through the meadows and the river,
But no ghost the sentry heeds.

Field of fame, a patriot army
Treads thy sacred sod to-day!
And they'll fight a common foeman,
Those who wore the blue and gray,
And they'll fight for common country,
And they'll charge to victory
'Neath the folds of one brave banner —
Starry banner of the free!

They are camped on Chickamauga,
Where the green tents of the dead
Turn the soil into a glory
Where a nation's heart once bled;
But they're clasping hands together
On this storied field of strife —
Brothers brave who meet to battle
In the freedom-war of life!





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net