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SUNG BY THE YOUNG LADIES OF THE
AT THE
MEM0EIJLL CEEEM01TIES,
AVmcliestei1, Virginia, .Time 9, 1870.
BY PROF. J. H. HEWITT.
Air—Long Ago."
Rest, soldier, rest while we strew o'er thy bed
The young flow'rs of Spring, by diamond dew fed ;
Our tears a libation we make to thy worth,
Thou brave heart that slumbers beneath the cold earth !
Sleep, sleep in thy tomb,
'Till Heaven's muster drum
Shall call from the grave
: The true and the brave.
Rest, soldier, rest, &c.
Thy strong arm was raised in defence of the right,
i\nd firmly it fell on the helmet of might ;
Too proud to be whipp'd into tyranny's yoke,
Thy soul long'd for death—and life's tendrils were broke !
But long shall thy name
Be utter'd by Fame,
And many suns set
Ere thy deeds we forget !
Rest, soldier, rest, &c.
The buried unknown, who fought to be free,
And slumber, awaiting the last reveille,
Will step to the front, when the record is read,
And claim deathless bays with the rest of the dead.
Like flesh-walls they stood
'Midst tumult and blood,
Nor ask'd, as they bled,
Who'd weep for the dead P
Rest, soldier, rest, &c.
Then, scatter fresh flowers and twine the bright wreath ;
Tread light on the sod, for the biave rest beneath ;
Their bones turn to dust, but their spirits shall rise
When the last trumpet sounds their retreat to the skies.
An angel shall write,
With a pencil of light,
The names of the braves
Who now sleep in their graves.
Rest, soldier, rest, &c.