Phœbe Cary, the younger of the Cary sisters, was born near
Cincinnati, Ohio, September 4, 1824, and died in Newport, Rhode
Island, July 31, 1873. Her best-known lyric is entitled “Nearer
Home.”
The incident described in this poem probably occurred some time during
the first week in April, 1863, when there were several actions at
Rodman’s Point. This point is a strip of land projecting into the
Pimlico River about a mile and a half below Washington, North Carolina.