I saw them charge across the field
The Stars and Bars above them,
I saw them fall in hundreds--
I heard the rebel yell.
Behind me, ’neath the Stars and Stripes,
I watched the blue coats pouring
Into the men of Pickett
The flaming vials of Hell.
_I thought of Yorktown--Bunker Hill--
Of Valley Forge and Monmouth.
Again the Elders signed our birth--
The great Bell tolled anew.
And I closed my eyes and shuddered--
And I looked to the Lord of Battle--
And I prayed, “Forgive them Father,
For they know not what they do.”_
I saw them striding o’er the field--
A gray-clad, aged remnant;
I heard again across the plain
The piercing rebel call.
Behind me, ’neath a peaceful sky,
I saw the blue coats standing--
I saw the columns meet--clasped hands--
Above my battered wall.
_I knew my blood-stained conscience--_
_My reeking rowels were whitened._
_I saw the line of Sections_
_Fade dim and die away._
_And Phœnix-like, from fire and hate,_
_A reunited nation_
_Rose up to bless her children,_
_Forever and for aye._