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