|
His soul to Him who gave it rose, God led it to its long repose, Its glorious rest; And though the warrior’s sun has set, Its light will linger round us yet, Bright, radiant, blest. Longfellow. |
In Memoriam.
|
His memory long will live alone In all our hearts, as mournful light That broods above the fallen sun, And dwells in heaven half the night. Tennyson. |
The following was the letter informing his friends of what had happened:—
Camp before Sebastopol,
To Lord Rayleigh.
My Lord,
It is with the deepest sorrow that I write to announce the death of Captain Vicars, of the 97th Regiment. He was killed last night in the trenches, while gallantly cheering on his men to the attack of a body of the enemy, who, taking advantage of the darkness of the night, got close into our trenches. From what I can glean of the affair, he rushed bravely into the middle of them, knocked down two, and was in the act of striking a third, when one of them shot him through the right arm, high up, close to the shoulder; the ball divided the principal artery, and he must soon have bled to death; therefore it is a melancholy satisfaction to know that his sufferings were short.
I cannot express my own sorrow and that of the Regiment at the loss of so valuable an Officer, further than to say, as regards myself, I feel that I have lost a brother; it was in his society I felt the happiest: as regards the Regiment he cannot be replaced. Contemplating his melancholy loss in the light of a Christian, we indeed ought not to sorrow as those who have no hope, for I feel sure no Officer in the whole army was more prepared to meet his Saviour. I write to your Lordship, as he told one of our Officers that his Mother was staying with you, and he had given you directions in case (as he said) of anything happening to him.
I am, &c.,
T. O. W. INGRAM,
Major, 97th Regt.