Bow down, my soul, in grief
- Before the God of Heaven;
We failed to grant our men relief
:That rebels would have given!
And so those soldiers, good and true,
Died of neglect from "me and you."
Too late we feel their woes,
- Deluded now no more;
But withering blight shall rest on those
- Who kept these men in store
As capital to aid their schemes
And realize ambition's dream.
Adown time's steepest path
- Their names with scorn shall go,
The objects of a nation's wrath—
:Those ministers of woe!
They killed the fifteen thousand men
Who perished in that prison pen!
RECOLLECTIONS OF GENERAL EARL VAN DORN.
The History of a Gallant Soldier of the Confederacy — His Personal Characteristics
and His Military Achievements — The Campaign on the West of the Mississippi.
By Major-General Dabney H. Maury.
General Earl Van Dorn was, in the opinion of the writer, the most remarkable man the State of Mississippi has ever known. My acquaintance with him began in Monterey, in the fall of 1846. He was aide-de-camp then to General Persifor F. Smith, and was one of the most attractive young fellows in the army. He used to ride a beautiful bay Andalusian horse, and as he came galloping along the lines, with his yellow hair waving in the wind and his bright face lighted with kindliness and courage, we all loved to see him. His figure was lithe and graceful; his stature did not exceed five feet six inches; but his clear blue eyes, his firm-set mouth, with white, strong teeth, his well-cut nose, with expanding nostrils, gave assurance of a man
