After the Battle

Night settles on the mountainThat flamed an hour agoWith all the grand insigniaOf sunset's fiery glow;And through the purple heavens,High in the amethyst,The solemn stars are gleaming whiteThrough the enshrouding mist.

For us, they look on quiet;On peaceful, happy homes;We hear no roar of cannon,No crash of warlike drums;We see no battle-banners,Bloody, and stained, and rent;For us, no smoke of carnageClouds the blue firmament.

O stars, and sweet moon, hangingUp in the breathless height!What scenes of desolationYe look upon, to-night!On green fields blushing crimson;On bright swords wet with gore,Dropped from strong hands which grasped them,But ne'er will grasp them more!

The night is gathering slowly;Some faces lie so calm,You think the dead ears listenTo the eternal psalm!—Lie blankly gazing upward,Unheedful night has come,The time the soldier folds his armsAnd dreams of friends and home.

They lie there all together,Rebel, and Union true;Close, side by side, the uniformsOf gray, and Federal blue;White-haired and bearded veterans,Youths with their locks of gold,Whose pale, unchanging faces,Now, never will grow old!

The living claim our weeping;The dead, why sorrow o'er?They have passed unto God, and HeCares for them evermore;They've crossed the mystic riverAnd reached the shadowy lands,—We follow them no further,—We leave them in His hands.

O God! our hearts cry dailyFor all this strife to cease!Give us the signal victory,And give us lasting peace!Remove all strife and bitternessFrom our loved land afar,And let the time come speedilyWhen there shall be no war!