THE CAPTURE OF PETERSBURG

And soon began the whirlwind and the fire.
From all directions gathering Union troops
Were circling closer the Confederates.
Cyclonic swirl and blast of lurid rage —
The spirit of Sheridan in man and steed —
Were towards one goal converging. Lee beheld
And wrought by vision. From his trenches round
He moved his veterans westward. How 'twas fought,
That final combat at Five Forks! How gain
Graced Sheridan's hot Horse! How Pickett's troops
Were swept in dire confusion from the field,
And guns and colors of Lee's great right wing
Strewed reddened battle-roads with trailing wrecks,
The while the Gray Commander, overwhelmed
With anguish, faced the dark and ominous hour!

And yet that anguish, then and afterward,
Was but expression of immediate thought
Under the press of time's commandery,
And stress of duty sworn to be performed.
But anguish lightened when the inner springs
Of the high nature, loosened by the laws
Of centuried evolvement lifting truth,
Forced up the glory o'er mind's darkling front,
And rhythms through sinews and historic blood.