I hear the praises of his name
From east and west, and north and south,
His foes are silenced from sheer shame:
His deeds have silenced Slander's mouth,
And all the little imps of spite
He's crushed beneath the heel of Right.
He dropped an arm one bloody day,
In beating down the walls of wrong,
But no strength went with it away;
His other grew full thrice as strong.
Few men, with their two hands, have done
As noble deeds as he with one.
His soul speaks through his eye of blue,
And all men know him one to trust,
Because his heart is kind and true,
And all his actions prove him just.
I speak for thousands when I cry,
"The people's favorite for aye!"
May God be with him all his days--
With him and all he holds most dear;
And if my little song of praise
Should chance to fall upon his ear,
May he accept the offering,
And know that from my heart I sing.
[AN ARMY REUNION.]
After the battles are over,
And the war drums cease to beat,
And no more is heard on the hillside
The sound of hurrying feet,
Full many a noble action,
That was done in the days of strife,
By the soldier is half forgotten,
In the peaceful walks of life.
Just as the tangled grasses,
In summer's warmth and light,
Grow over the graves of the fallen
And hide them away from sight,
So many an act of valor,
And many a deed sublime,
Fades from the mind of the soldier,
O'ergrown by the grass of time.
Not so should they be rewarded,
Those noble deeds of old;
They should live forever and ever,
When the heroes' hearts are cold.
Then rally, ye brave old comrades,
Old veterans, re-unite!
Up root time's tangled grasses--
Live over the march, and the fight.
Let Grant come up from the White House,
And clasp each brother's hand,
First chieftain of the army,
Last chieftain of the land.
Let him rest from a nation's burdens,
And go, in thought, with his men,
Through the fire and smoke of Shiloh,
And save the day again.
This silent hero of battles,
Knew no such word as _defeat_.
It was left for the rebels learning.
Along with the word retreat.
He was not given to _talking_,
But he found that guns would preach
In a way that was more convincing
Than fine and flowery speech.