“And this is what it means, to earn
The title ‘Veteran’ on a coat;
To march through flood and field, or lie
Where rebel rifles sweep the moat;
To serve the guns in rifle pits;
To sleep beneath the silent sky;
To dream of home, and wake to war;
To see a comrade drop and die;
To hear and heed the fearful song
Which whistling minie bullets sing;