The Stars & Bars
By: O. T. Dozier, MD. Birmingham Alabama
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The Stars and Bars are fallen,
And will never float again,
But bright on history’s pages
It will live without a stain.
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For proudest recollections
Of battles fought and won,
And glorious deeds of valor,
By Southern patriots done,
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Will embalm in sacred memory
The banner, bright and dear,
And sound it down the ages
As the one without a peer.
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‘T was born of stern oppression,
And was cradled in the storm,
Rose demanding a reform,
When retributive justice
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And in the name of liberty
Was christened in the blood
Of heroes and of patriots
That flowed in crimson flood.
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And thus endeared to freedom
By every sacred tie,
Our hearts were rent with anguish
When we saw it droop and die.
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We held it in affection,
And rejoiced to see it wave;
We loved the men who bore it,
For they were true and brave.
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We loved its holy cause,
And the hopes that it inspired,
And we honor every martyr
Who beneath its folds expired.
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With reverence, too, the chieftains,.
Each and every separate name
Who, ‘neath the star-wreathed banner,
Fought and won their glorious fame.
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But supported not by nations
Who beheld it from afar,
Alone it met the tempest
Of the fiery crest of war.
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No nation recognized it,
No arms were stretched to save;
But the world will ne’er forget it
As the banner of the brave.
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But now that flag is fallen,
And will proudly float no more;
Our soldiers tents are folded,
And the din of war is o’er.
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Our cannon’s throats are silent,
The sword is in its sheath,
Our camps are all deserted
Save the silent camps of death.
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No sentinel now on duty
Doth freedom’s watch-words tell,
For liberty was ended
When that glorious banner fell.
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From: Confederate Veteran Magazine, Volume I, No. 7., July, 1893, Page 207.
