Classic Poem

Meseemed a vision filled the night, of strong men mustering,
And two by two in solemn pride they strode with sturdy swing;
I stood upon the battlements and saw them man the guns,
And fling the halyards to the breeze where mad mid-ocean runs;
To right of me, to left of me, they rallied, man and man,
Until, meseemed, the plains were groves, the groves like rivers ran;
I heard the scream of bugles and the throbbing of the drums,
As the murmur of the thunders that portend the storm that comes.
My pulses stung and trembled, my blood was all afire,
To see the sons go stalking forth, to battle, with their sire;
" God keep my first-born darling, " the mother knelt to pray, —
And so our great Grand Army was mustered in that day.

Up springs the stalwart Lincoln — God grant his spirit's near!
And as he calls the roll of States, they rise and answer: " Here! "
Maine shouts to Minnesota, Vermont to Oregon:
" Who hails the sword of Bunker Hill, rise up and put it on! "
The flame has lit the forges, the engines pant and fret,
And lo! upon the hilltops the signal fires are set:
The shade of Ethan Allen is up and marching now,
And Henry fires the forum, and Putnam leaves the plow
Who stems the tide of battle, he does it at his cost,
Who stays a hand where Freedom leads, he is forever lost;
The list of heroes lengthens, a splendor gilds the scroll, —
And so our great Grand Army made up its battle roll.
Oh, there was brave maneuver in sight of foe and friend,
And toss of plume and feather, and marching without end;
And there were banners waving, and there were songs and cheers,
And for the patriot praises, and for the coward jeers;
And here the splendid Infantry accoutered bright and blue,
And there the gleaming trappings of Cavalry in view;
And flash of scarlet gunners and riders in the line,
With gorgeous spreading epaulettes and sashes red as wine;
And lo, the long processions of maidens drawing nigh,
With kisses and with flowers, to say a last good-bye;
And lo, the wives a-lifting their babies to the sun, —
And so our great Grand Army beheld its work begun.

I turned me to the Southland, and War swept into view,
With Famine and with Fever a-riding one and two;
And there was clash and clamor and marshaling for the fray,
And in the shock of battle, they met, the Blue and Gray;
'Tis brother met with brother, 'tis match of man and man,
The jousts of peers and princes upon a mightier plan;
The red, red tide of battle is sweeping on its way,
With hope and heart and fortune, forever and a day.
But not in knightly crusade or quest of Holy Grail
Were purer hands uplifted, did holier vows prevail;
Nor e'en to good Sir Galahad were saintlier visions sent,
Than in our great Grand Army to dying eyes were lent.

Play up, O fife and bugle! play up, sonorous drum!
The legions of disunion, they tremble as ye come!
Play up the blue Potomac! play up along the James!
Where patriot cheers are swelling, where rebel laughter shames!
Play up the slopes of Lookout! play up both loud and fast,
For Farragut's at Mobile, and lashed unto the mast!
Play up for Appomattox, and let your tunes be gay,
For underneath the apple-tree the Blue has met the Gray!
Play up the flag of Freedom! play up the Stripes and Stars!
Play down the rag of Treason! play down the Stars and Bars!
Play up the " March through Georgia, " night can not always last!

Play up our great Grand Army! God speed it, first and last!
With faded coat and feather, the thin battalions come,
And here the drooping banner, and there the muffled drum;
The gleam of splendid trappings may nevermore be told,
The scarlet and the crimson, the glitter and the gold.
Within the awful prisons the ragged ranks are mute,
With never a dirge lamenting and never a last salute;
And many a brave battalion goes down forevermore,
Since War has supped with Fever while Famine kept the door.
And lo, beyond the prison, beyond the faded lines,
The sad and slow processions go sadly 'mong the pines:
The maidens and the mothers a-searching for the slain,
Who with our great Grand Army will never come again.

Unite your ranks, O comrades! consolidate brigades!
Call in vidette and picket! suspend your dashing raids!
Take home your captured cannon and mould them into stars,
To deck the breasts of veterans returning from the wars!
Swing out the tattered banners, though riddled through and through;
With elbow touching elbow begin your Grand Review;
Was ever seen such marching, say, comrades, 'neath the sun,
As army meeting army you made at Washington?
The hilltops are exultant! the streets with joy are wild,
And the veteran's heart is thrilled with thoughts of home and wife and child;
Cheers meeting cheers resounding make up a sea of sound,
That lauds our great Grand Army wherever fame is found!

Play up! play up, ye bugles! play up, both fife and drum!
But not from wars returning to-day our comrades come!
Maine calls to Minnesota, Vermont to Oregon:
" Who hails the sword of Bunker Hill, rise up and journey on! "
The picket-guards of Freedom are on the outward line,
And on the heights of victory their banners we define;
They wage a grander warfare than any has been told,
And prairie yields her treasure and mountain gives her gold.
Play up, play up the music to which our comrades fell,
The tunes that in a hundred fights they loved both long and well!
Play up, where freemen gather! wherever man meets man,
'Tis there our great Grand Army is ever in the van!

Play up, O fife and bugle! play up, sonorous drum!
Play up the hosts of Freedom rejoicing as they come!
Play up the war-worn soldiers, wherever they may stand!
Play up the old Potomac; play up the Cumberland!
The veterans are coming, be still my heart and hear,
It is the glad hosanna, it is the Union cheer!
Heaven speed the fight they're making! Heaven give to each his due,
Who bore the brunt of battle to keep the Union true!
Play up, while lo, before them we lay our brightest flowers,
While mirth and song and laughter beguile the golden hours!
From Maine to Minnesota, play up our comrades, true,
Who in our great Grand Army have worn the Union blue.

Play up the march of Empire! play up the march of Love!
The mighty West before us! the Stars and Stripes above!
Play up the South returning! play up the reveille;
Play up for truer Union! play up for States to be!
Play up the struggling nations whose eyes have hailed the morn
That glows above the cradle where Liberty was born!
Play up the toiling millions, whose race is but begun;
Play up, play up for Lincoln! Play up for Washington!
Play up the Union rally! play up both loud and shrill:
One heart, one hope, one faith, one flag , shall be our slogan still!
Play up the " March through Georgia, " your merriest music play!
Play up our great Grand Army forever and for aye!