Southern Historical Society Papers/Volume 14/Poem
LEE—A POEM.
Rear it high that men may see
How the valiant honor valor—
How the brave remember Lee.
Poise him on the lofty summit
Of the white enduring stone,
Where his form may linger, teaching
In dumb majesty alone.
Never braver spirit battled,
Never grander soldier shone,
Than this victor—vanquished only
When his hosts were overborne.
Give him greeting while he rises
On this monument to-day,
As the warrior who led armies
To the enemy's dismay;
As the hero thrice encompased—
Thrice outnumbered by the foe—
Who with all the odds against him.
Still resisted overthrow.
He, the leader of the legions—
He, the chieftain of the brave—
He, the model man and Christian,
Sleeping where the willows wave—
Shall be numbered with the noblest
That have ever swayed the world,
Though his cause be lost forever
And his fated flag be furled.
God anoint us in this moment
Of memorial for the dead—
For the once contending armies
Now united overhead—
For the Blue and Gray together
That so bravely fought and fell,
When the North and South divided—
Faced the flashing flame of hell.
They are looking from the Heavens
On this hallowed scene today,
And the pipes of peace are playing
To their spirits' gentle sway.
While we rear the solid column,
Rear it high that men may see
How the valiant honor valor—