"A soldier of the Union mustered out," Is the inscription on an unknown grave At Newport News, beside the salt-sea wave, Nameless and dateless; sentinel or scout Shot down in skirmish, or disastrous rout Of battle, when the loud artillery drave Its iron wedges through the ranks of brave And doomed battalions, storming the redoubt. Thou unknown hero sleeping by the sea In thy forgotten grave! with secret shame I feel my pulses beat, my forehead burn, When I remember thou hast given for me All that thou hadst, thy life, thy very name, And I can give thee nothing in return. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE VOLUNTEER by HERBERT HENRY ASQUITH UPON JULIA'S VOICE by ROBERT HERRICK ON AN OLD MUFF by FREDERICK LOCKER-LAMPSON TO JOHN KEATS; SONNET by AMY LOWELL DESERT WIFE by NELLIE COOLEY ALDER A PORTRAIT by ANNA LETITIA BARBAULD |