Edmund Clarence Stedman, our most distinguished critic, and one of
the three most distinguished of our living poets (the others being
Richard Henry Stoddard and Thomas Bailey Aldrich), was born in
Hartford, Connecticut, October 8, 1833. He entered journalism after
leaving college, and was a war correspondent during the early years
of the Civil War. Later he purchased a seat in the New York stock
exchange, and became a broker, devoting his leisure to literature.
He has for many years been one of the most prominent figures in
literary New York.
The battle of Seven Pines was fought on the 31st of May, 1862.
Philip Kearny was born in New York City, June 2, 1815. Entering the army
in 1837, he was sent to Europe two years later to observe the tactics of
the French cavalry. Enlisting in the French service, he performed many
daring exploits in Algiers. He was in the Mexican War, and was the first
American to enter the city of Mexico. He won the cross of the Legion of
Honor in the Franco-Austrian war of 1859, and his service to the Union
cause in the Rebellion before his death was conspicuous. General Scott
once referred to him as the bravest and most perfect soldier he ever
knew. The battle of Chantilly, where General Kearny lost his life, took
place September 1, 1862. The general became separated from his men in
the dusk and driving rain, and rode by mistake into the Confederate
line. Encountering some skirmishers, he perceived his blunder, wheeled
his horse, and endeavored to escape, but a volley rang out and he fell.
It was in Kearny’s memory that George H. Boker wrote his most tender
lyric: