THE CIVIL WAR

Though I am Canadian, I have been interested in
the Civil War since grade school. I have studied
it extensively over the years. I find it tragic and
sad that brother fought against brother and
father against son. This war tore families apart
forever. Over 80,000 men died during the Civil
War. This is my tribute to them.
Many thanks to WWII Veteran Elmer Ake for
allowing me the use of his poem.

THIS HALLOWED GROUND
Northern Version

Dear Lord! Again today I watch them cross this Hallowed Ground
From their lines of safety to our earthen mounds.
Again I hear the screaming shells overhead
And I fire the mini balls that strike my enemies dead.
Lord! their dying doesn't fill me with dread.
I watch them run where Angels fear to tread.

I leap over the bodies of their dead friends
This terrible field where their life ends.
Up ahead I see the cannon's smoke and flame
And see the shells that kill and maim
To retreat now would be a shame
They too must perish, this is not a game.

This Hallowed ground too is my last resting place
I have fulfilled my duty without disgrace.
My name is on the stone above
I sleep far from the ones I love
My enemies also sleep in this quiet grove
Far from their native hills and coves.

They rallied 'round our State's battle flags
And fought shoeless and in tattered rags.
They raised our sacred banners high
Now discarded in the mud they lie
The freedom we died for is a lie
And over their States the banners no longer fly.

Honorable men from every Northern state
Were sent to Gettysburg to kill men we didn't hate.
Once again the hallowed fields will recall the drum beat
Once again will echo the sound of marching feet
Once again Old Glory and the Stars and Bars will meet.
And the sound of battle once again will repeat.

If I stand real quiet and listen, from somewhere down the lane
I can hear a long gone band playing Dixie's refrain.
And somehow through the mists of time I see the men in gray
With muskets at the ready they march into the fray
And I hear the Rebel call as on that fateful day.
And watch our cannon fire blow them all away.

Over our States our banner no longer waves
But we are forgotten in our graves.
Soon Dixie song will be banished away
Tear down the statues of our heroes in gray.
Will the Star Spangled Banner no longer play
When the politicans take over the country someday?


Copyright © 2000 by Elmer Ake
All Rights Reserved
E-mail Elmer at: ehake@fuse.net

To read "THIS HALLOWED GROUND - Southern Version,
please drop by my friend, Mary's, website.
It is a fantastic page.
http://www.katamaran_mash/graves.html

Generals Grant and Lee

Three hundred boys under the age of 13 years served in the Civil War.
The majority of them were drummers and fifers but some enrolled and fought in battle.

Twenty-five boys were under the age of 10.

Women also played an important role in the Civil War.
They acted as spies, wrote diaries, knit and sewed clothing
and nursed the wounded and dying.
Some cut off their long tresses,
dressed in men's clothing and enrolled for active duty.

Background Courtesy of
Kathie Fraser
Thank you Kathie

May every person who fought in the Civil War
rest in peace and never be forgotten.
Many sacrificed all for what they believed in.

Music playing "Garry Owen." Courtesy of Music Of The Civil War