Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Confederate Soldiers-An Elegy- ABC Wednesday "E"


Magnolia Cemetery-Confederate Section


ONLY A PRIVATE
by Margaret Junkin Preston
(1820-1897)


Only a private -- and who will care
    When I may pass away,
Or how, or why I perish, or where
    I mix with the common clay?
They will fill my empty place again
    With another as bold and brave;
And they'll blot me out ere the autumn rain
    Has freshened my nameless grave.





Please note that these tombstones are all unidentified and unknown.

February 12 is also the birthday of Abraham Lincoln. To see more ABC WEDNESDAY photos, go here.
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13 comments:

  1. Dave-CostaRicaDailyPhoto.com4:44 AM

    I wonder if there are memorials to the Union soldier war dead in the South, and memorials to the Confederate dead in the North.

    And how about memorials to the civilians uprooted or killed by the war?

    And what about the horses who sacrificed as part of the armies?

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    Replies
    1. Linda10:19 PM

      I saw a memorial to the horses the other day! It's in front of the National Sporting Library in Middleburg VA. I can't think of memorials to the civilians but yes, there are memorials to the Union dead in the south (54th Pennsylvania Monument in New Market, VA) and Confederate dead in the north (particularly in WV and in Gettysburg).

      Delete
  2. Kate6:42 AM

    Dave, excellent questions and you have motivated me do so some research to find some answers to these questions.

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  3. Janet7:07 AM

    Dave, if they were buried in the South, there are memorials! :)

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  4. SRQ8:17 AM

    What a profoundly sad poem. Ms. Preston must not have had any relatives who served in the military. This looks like an interesting cemetery. Would be worth a stroll...like walking through history.

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  5. Kathy8:23 AM

    So many young men lost - many of those were just mere boys. .

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  6. Jack4:04 PM

    Any war cemetery is moving, regardless of which side the soldiers and sailors fought on.

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  7. Roger Owen Green8:20 PM

    war is so sad
    ROG, ABC Wednesday team

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  8. Library Jewel8:49 PM

    I wondered the same thing as Dave. I know you will seek answers, Kate.

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  9. Randy10:27 PM

    What an amazing place to visit.

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  10. PerthDailyPhoto6:57 AM

    To end like this, with no family knowing where your final resting place is, is more than tragic. Very sad reminders of the past Kate, but a tribute indeed.

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  11. photowannabe3:13 PM

    I appreciate your sharing the unknown with us today. I liked the poem too.

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  12. Chubskulit Rose12:12 PM

    It's sad that nobody knew who they were!

    Catching up with ABC Wednesday entries on Valentine's day!

    I hope you'd come and check out my Eskimo

    Rose, ABC Wednesday Team

    ReplyDelete

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