3252 iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!iiiiiiyiiiiiitiiiiiiijiiiii!!iiiiiiiiiiii^ iill(llllllillllllllliliill[illlllllllllllllltlll1il!lllll!lll!!!i![|||||t!lilllli^ MODERN POETRY —BY- FRED D. McMILLEN PIONEER PRINTERS Minneapolia, Minn. IlilillilllillilliliillUillill llllillilllllllilllllillllillllil wmm 1 FRED D. McMILLEN Minneapolis, Minn. and other poems By FRED D. McMILLEN, Minneapolis, Minn. Copyrighted, 1919, by F. D. McMillan Minneapolis, Minn. Price 50 Cents Per Copy. J':^ ^*%i^ r^^^ PRELUDE. Who can compute the span of life. Where armies meet in mortal strife? Ah, none may know what hour will grace The fatal field his resting place. Hostility, at war's dark brink. Should pause a moment there to think; To count the misery and the cost What tho the cause is won or lost. Reflection has, with sober thought, The noble lesson often taught That honor's slight or injured pride Will not excuse a homicide. The greater pleasure often know; That friends are made of former foe And wrongs endured and then forgiven Receive the rich reward of Heaven. NOV -4 1919 g)ClA534603 THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG 2nd Edition. The arm of commander Lee, In Eighteen hundred sixty-three Its martial powers to demonstrate Sought Washington's most Westward gate; The Northern army home to drive, With thousand soldiers seventy-five Faithful followers every one. From fields their master hand had won. This army that so lately lay, In trenches with its foe at bay, Where river's course and thickets might Protection lend in case of flight; Emboldened by its late success With ease departs from its recess By column, cavalry and train As if to split the North in twain. As monarch doth explore his land, In which no foemen dare to stand. It wanders forth both free and far Directed by the Northern Star. His cavalry to right is cast. And mountain base it quickly passed; It left South Mountain's modest crest And towering spires in distant West. The infantry, four columns strong. In broken cadence walked along: The village streets and road-way wide A passage freely did provide. And as their onward course persue Each town and village they pass through With rament, food and money pay The tribute ordered on the way. Around the western slope they wind Until the Northern passage find; Emerging from the mountain brake A northward course again they take. Commander Lee, his glances cast On Gettysburg so nearly passed And hasty lines he then threw out "To see what Meade might be about." No thought had Lee that foemen then Exceeded a few thousand men; For Stuart's cavalry could roam The eastern plains from w^hence they come. And since his couriers had brought No sign, no message or a thought Their absence did to him declare No Federal army could be there. But cavalry at times will stray Too far beyond the chosen way. And as its wide detour it took In eastern hillocks failed to look Where martial force of Northern pride Passed northw^ard near the mountain side. Its lines expanding could defy A messenger to pass them by. When warning had been sounded forth That Lee's Command was marching North The Union forces led by Meade Responded quickly and agreed To stop the move, tho woe betide; And columns marched by rapid stride For thirty miles to reach the line Before Lee's army could combine. The Northern men, with guns and all. Were rushed to meet their country's call; To reach the front with utmost speed Were ordered by Commander Meade. The midnight march, the season hot, The late defeat, the men forgot. The single phrase bore every tongue "We'll stop Lee's march on Washington." No swamps or tangled forests there. The vale was clear, the hills were bare, And army movements could be seen Obstructed by no cloud or screen. The Southern army from the West Inspecting heights to serve it best. The Seminary ridge it chose From which to overcome its foes. Reynolds cavalry platoon. Was on this ridge the last of June; But the next day the Southern fire Compelled his soldiers to retire; For none but foremost outward guard Was then in place attacks to ward And when they faced the Southern gun Too few they were, by two to one. —7- The Northern army's high command At length provided for a stand Upon the Cemetery ridge Just South and East of the Village. . They sought at first this ridge to gain And their position there maintain Against attacks that Lee might lend Upon their lines to force a rend. The Village then had ridges two, One for the Gray, and one for the Blue As Goddess of the Justice stands With equal gifts within her hands. Commander Lee's suspicion viewed The ridge on w^hich his f oemen stood ; And he, to crown his late success. Believed this ridge he should possess. Longstreet*s Southern flag then flew About the field where peaches grew. And the farm house and wheatfield fine Were on his foremost battle line. While East and South from their repose The modest heights of Round Top rose; The Devils Den between remained Unsought by North, by South unclaimed. The Second of July, till four. In peace and calm was passing o'er. The battle plans, no doubt, were made To wait for re-enforcements' aid. But Sickles with impatient care Observed the force of Longstreet there, And forward at "his throat he sprung" And then the conflict had begun. And by the signal's furious rage The army's right and left engage In deadly conflict's awful strife. With most appalling loss of life. The Union right could not withstand The greater weight of Ewell's command And must release, against its will. Its favorite grip on Gulp's small hill. The yellow^ field of ripening grain Bore many martyr's life blood stain. The matron of the farmhouse small Was killed by a stray musket ball. While with her tender heated care A lunch for soldiers did prepare. Pity the innocent bereft When Longstreet struck the Union left. About that rough and rocky glen, For ages known as Devil's Den, They isolated combats fought, As if by fiends incarnate taught. In rocky cliff or lonely brake The men w^ould sometimes refuge take; And the same bowlder did divide The foemen crouched on either side. The deadly conflict could not last But Sickles' grip held Longstreet fast; His chosen ground refused to yield. About and South of the wheat field. Commanders used their utmost power. For well they knew a critical hour The Union left rolled back to right Would put the entire army to flight. —9— Longstreet's troops and Sickles' men Staggered back and forth again, And neither an advantage gained Reward for losses they sustained, Until the hour of closing day When Sickles' men, at last gave way, Were backward borne in haste at length By Longstreet's power and massive strength. As Bonaparte at Waterloo, In saddle rose, the foe to view In full retreat, and deemed before The close of day the battle's o'er. So Longstreet blushed with joy to see The Union left before him flee; And forward pressed the foe's retreat. He deemed commencing its defeat. Hancock viewed with grave concern His faithful troops to rear return ; The corps retreating men to stop He rode in haste towards Round Top. The General's mind perceived by glance The Southern army's quick advance; The Southern ridge about to gain And great advantage thus attain. He saw^ his re-enforcements move, The rapid pace of man to prove; The ridge to reach, the lines to form. To face and stop the Southern storm; But tho his men much faster came, The distance was too great to gain; And as the task and time combined Five minutes were his men behind. -10— Was it by chance or man designed, That General Hancock there should find A group of men, by Destiny lent — The First Minnesota Regiment? Detached, a minor task to fill Or in reserve upon the hill; The numbers were, alas, too few, Only two hundred sixty-two. To this command, in haste he rode Where by its standard firmly stood. To Colonel Colwell, at its head, "Charge those lines" the General said. The men all knew the reason why. They saw their comrades by them fly All stained with blood, and dark with dust. In flight from Longstreet's awful thrust. As mother bear defends her young So forward every soldier sprung; His natural life he' held at naught While Washington's defense he fought. Along the slope had charge begun — No man could pause to fire a gun. But at the foemen every one. As swift as armed men could run. A winding brook, though summer dried, Contending armies would divide And rushing lines of Southern men Would pause to cross and form again. Paused, to wonder and suppress The strange emotions they confess Deeming the forms they see ahead Avenging spirits of the dead. —11— As dreamers startled and amazed They steadily on the column gazed, Discerning if the gleaming steel Was spirit borne or deadly real : For mortal forms could hardly hold A line of steel so firm and bold And charge with such cadence along Upon an army half so strong. Two moments passed — the trance was broke Their lines to fire with flame and smoke And pours a seeming hail of lead Upon the charging column's head, Their ranks were torn, the air was rent, The column's strength w^as nearly spent. But still they forward press their way **To do or die" is all they say. Shelter in the friendly brook The remnants of the column took As re-enforcements all the while Were something more than half a mile. And all the Southern shot and shell Which on that little band that fell Broke not its steady force until The re-enforcements gained the hill. Longstreet then by retrograde Appealed for help by cannonade Before his infantry could face The Federal left entrenched in place. The silent shades of gathering night Forbade renewal of the fight. And Union troops sank down to rest Upon the ridge and Round-tops crest. —12- It may be said it saved the day As Southern right it held at bay Until fresh troops could be supplied To fill the place of those who died. The silent brook also may claim The honor in its humble name Of aiding victors of the day — The North to shield; the South delay. The dying and the wounded all Compose the losses that befall. No missing from the ranks were found. But prostrate forms upon the ground. Had silent reaper claimed the most When muster call revealed their loss; But forty-seven men remained In line to see success attained. Who could have guessed a little rill Could lend its aid for good or ill, As though its modest banks command A mighty host to pause and stand, Until the little band could hear The warning sound of danger near And answer forth by charge and cheer That chilled the Southern host with fear. Engross each name on plates of gold The letters make both plain and bold, Repeat the story I relate Of how the men of North Star State By charge so fierce, so strange to tell Cast on the Host an awe struck spell And baffled back their foremost line To save five minutes precious time. —13- What if Stonewall Jackson then, In fiery charge had led his men! No regiment and gentle rill Broke Jackson's charge at Chancellorsville. But General Jackson then was dead; Upon that fatal field had bled — Was from his legion's bosom torn His spirit was above them borne. The glowing rays of morning light Revealed the Struggling Union right Which then regained, at highest cost, The favorite hill, so lately lost. Commander Lee had dearly proved The Union left could not be moved; The Union right had shown its skill To take a lost position at will. One course remained, he' Id risk it all, On this success must stand or fall. To force a place for him to enter He' Id hurl his army at the center. But ere this grand assault would make Artillery in place would take Its mighty power to utilize The Union lines to pulverize. The Union army stood the shock Returning shell and cannon shot. Three hundred guns that fateful day, In deadly duel fought their way. The Southern concentrated fire. On Union center spent its ire; Which warning gave to it prepare For infantry to strike it there. ■14- General Hunt soon deemed it best To let his cannon have a rest; The rapid fire and scorching sun Was heating every Federal gun. Imagination may surmise That Meade provided a surprise, For Lee's command that soon would make Its final attack the line to brake. When Southern Generals heard no more The Northern cannon's awful roar, The pleasant thought at first enjoyed That Northern guns had been destroyed. The Union center, General Lee, On yonder ridge could plainly see And bade Longstreet, without delay. Prepare to sweep the lines away. (Pickett's Charge) Lee's intentions were to try The Union lines in twain to pry And then each wing to crush at length Directed by his master strength. Tho conscious that disaster still. Might greet his lines upon the hill, Pickett forward moved with pride His twenty thousand men to guide. As his divisions power and grace Was sweeping into danger's face. Like thunder's av/ful shock and roar That breaks the calm that was before. The Union lines again awoke. To shake the earth, by ponderous stroke; With blazing mouth and sulphureous breath Defiance poured, with tolls of death. -15— Onward they move, all undismayed, For Pickett's men were not afraid. Though shrapnel shell and solid shot Enfiled their lines, they falter not. They close their ranks, they sweep along At times they air their Southern song; They hold their lines, they give their yell Tho men, by thousands forward fell. The smoke of battle soon conceiled. The struggle on the fighting field. Where musket fire and cannon blast, A shroud upon the contest cast. The Union lines at first gave way. Before the gallant Pickett's sway. Who o'er the foremost rampart hoists, The banner of the Southern Host. The tiger ere his leap he takes, A backward crouch he always makes. The surer footing to secure. The greater struggle to endure; And so the Northern troops recoil Before the Southern savage toil And then wheel forward at command And meet their foemen hand to hand. As raging billows rear and roar. And dash upon a rock bound shore Only to feed the spray and foam And backward roll with dying moan. So Pickett's men with mighty shock With vengence hurled upon the rock. All shattered and in dire defeat They falter, sheer and then retreat. -16— The Southern banner backward falls All torn to shreds by musket balls And Pickett's faithful troops, in vain, Attempt to raise their flag again. The glasses of Commander Lee His struggling columns fail to see; But when the battle smoke has cleared The Southern line had disappeared. The General slightly bowed his head His steady eyes were turned red And emblems of approaching rain Upon his cheek produced a stain. For the commander loved his men And was in turn beloved by them; By nature polished and refined — The tender hearted noble kind. Of all the Southern choice array Who made that charge that fatal day — Of Pickett's twenty thousand men But few returned to ranks again. Strew^n about the vale below^ With many captured by their foe A few disperse, a few retreat. But all admit a dire defeat. So man may strive, with every might. His foe to place in vanquished flight But hands of Destiny divine The threads of victory may entwine. The shattered hosts again repair Within their ramparts kindly care ELxhausted and too worn to go Again to face their Federal foe. —17— The Southern Generals consult Amid the storm and the tumult Where seven and twenty thousand men Do not respond to call again. With cannon ammunition spent, With Meade's position still unbent, With victory followed by defeat Nought could remain but to retreat. No other counsel could them guide But leave the ground where they abide, And turn their face toward the South Away from Northern cannon's mouth. And back to lands of swamp and pine Where thickets thrive and rivers twine; Where Nature's hand could still caress A wounded lion in distress. The task assigned to Meade was done He stopped Lee's march on Washington And Victor's Goddess seldom shed More glory on Commander's head. And General Meade may have known when A wounded lion in his den Is better missed than sought until He leaves his lair by his free will. The Union soldiers fain would leap Beyond the fallen hero's heap. The faltering foe to press about And to defeat to add a rout; To close the mountain pass w^ould go And trap the remnants of the foe. But victory gained is best secure And impulse ruled by caution pure. —18— To Meade no information went That Lee's munitions had been spent. His men were worn and slumber bound. Beyond disturbing cannons' sound; And doleful tasks remained ahead, To care for w^ounded and the dead; But Victor's army still would lend Impartial aid to foe and friend. Let monuments forever stand Where Meade supremely did command The men who life blood freely gave Our Nation's sovereign life to save; Where Union men have driven forth The foes that pierced the sovereign North, And bid those Southern army trains Retreat without their slaves and chains. Perchance, pursuit to help prevent The Heavens were by the thunders rent And lightning flashed from the sky, The Gods of War to help defy. The sun, as though ashamed to shed The light of day upon the dead, Within the clouds withheld his rays, To wait the dawn of happier days. The stains of blood to fain erase, From troubled Earth's distorted face, And cleanse the battle field again The heavens poured forth a drenching rain. So Nature deigned to shed her tear, As Mother weeps by infant's bier. And darkest clouds would hover low^ As if to hide the mortal woe. -19- Oh, Gettysburgh! upon your verdant hills No more the piercing war-cry thrills The lagging trooper of the day, Or wakes the weary dreamer for the fray. Pray, let no hostile sound distress The final slumber of the blessed; Marked by the stone above the head Of many known and unknown dead. A SON'S LAMENTATION. How rich w^as the blessing in life's early morn- ing. When fiction endangered the teachings of truth. To observe through the haze all the signals of warning. By the hand of the parents that guided my youth. How light were life's burdens, though often recoiling From the weight of the juvenile duties and cares. When we heard the sv/eet voice of the fond parents calling The faltering youths to assemble for prayers. But the joys of today, and the pains of to- morrow. Proud Nature in unbroken ration will keep; -20— So the height of my joy marked the depth of my sorrow. When its withering judgment compelled me to weep. For the hands that caressed me were borne away yonder And mortals no more can their presence re- place ; Now alone and unguided for ever I wander Through darkness and sorrow no pleasure to trace. How often at night by strange slumber's transi- tion, When reason no more guides the vision of men, I can see by my side, that long lost condition The fond hand of my parents extended again. And quickly I start for the bright apparition But in vain all about me I grope in the dark, Until fancy recalls that cold Nature's partition From the hand of the parents that guided my bark. Oh! the anguish of soul, when the dreamer out- crying To greet the fond voice of his loved ones' re- turn, Hears the wild wind of winter's deep merci- less sighing The only response for the voice from the urn. And the darkness adds doubt to the bitter repining, —21— As the late cherished hopes to despair quickly fall, When we know that the morn, with the sun brightly shining Can bring no response to the son's loving call. And so now I am waiting the hand's reappear- ing To waft the last signal to bid me arise. From the horrors of life, and its doubting and fearing To homes of immortals through transparent skies; And a merciful faith may be ever abiding. When nears my approach to the shore that's unknown That the voices long hushed will again be con- fiding And the hand of my parents will welcome me home. THE COTTAGE BY THE ROADSIDE. There's a cottage by the roadside, that I ever reverence more As years of joy and sorrow come and go; It was erected by my Father near the corner of his farm To shield and give protection to the loved ones long ago. There's a stillness in the orchard, where we used to sit and swing There is silence in the garden and the hall; There's no music in the parlor where we used to play and sing. There's no answer to the sparrow's morning call. i There the sturdy oak and maple, with their branches bending low Still are standing near the western window pane; And the wind that sways the treetops seem to murmur as they go "They will never all assemble here again." They may say it is not modern, nor artistic in design. But around its saintly portals all my childish thoughts entwine; There's no mansion in creation that can give me back the joy That the cottage by the roadside gave its little bare-foot boy. -23- A POET'S FIGURE. Upon the canvas picture painted Many colors may unite, But poet's colors, less acquainted. Are limited to black and white. Around the sculptor's silent token Lines of grace and beauty link, But poet's lines, so often broken, Are only traced by pen and ink. Metallic chords, with pleasure blending Aid the vocalist's noble art; But poet's humble chords ascending. Vibrate only from his heart. Grace in colors form and music, Gladly would the poet reach. But he, alas, can excel only By the figure of his speech. FOGAN'S FALL. They say that Fogan fell in church — No troubled conscience caused the lurch Because his conscience long had been Pollutely dipped and died in sin. How could his hand release its hold Upon the tray of paltry gold? The real reason may have been That no commission rewarded him. The saintly preacher may have read The simple words the Savior said That Fogan must, like camels try The passage of the needle's eye. Or he may have recalled the thought That when life's battles have been fought And he must view the distant shore They can't transport his money o'er. The strain must bear upon the man, Who all along life's journey ran Upon the track get-all-you-can From God, the devil or mortal man; To reap the sheaves of golden grain For God alone and not retain TTie major part that might be given To help him corner grace in Heaven. —25— NATURAL LAWS. No selfish motive doth my lines inspire Or mark the simple accent of my lyre; But if the poet's ever ready pen In aught may aid his fellow countrymen Our Nation's life and Sovereignty maintain From powers that dwell beyond the briny main The only recompense that he, at last may claim, Is that his efforts were not made in vain. There is a course by nature cast That yields no place to time or task Unmoved by love or kindly grace Commanding all the earthly race. If you would turn for instincts light To view the fowls upon their flight You see the sparrow guardians beat The mighty hawk to quick retreat. And in the lower realms of life; The will that moves the ant to strife Or guides the bee upon the green, This law of nature may be seen. The instinct of the beast we see In jungles where he wanders free. As roams the beast from haunt to lair This law of Nature lingers there. The impulse that directs the worm May guide the heart of man in turn For in the heart of man and beast We find one common trait at least. —36— And yet will kings and others choose Their knowledge of this law to lose, Or think their own proud judgment can Completely alter Nature's plan. For truly Nature seems to place The lion's heart in men of grace What cunning cruel, deadly skill. Have despots that the palace fill! And when I see the lion's heart Incased in man's own counterpart Forsooth I hear the lion's roar Above the prayers the Monarchs pour. Perchance the truth may be confessed — A vacuum where the brain should rest; Or victim of the deadly curse — Whose heart is bound within his purse. His mind, his heart, his all intent Is on the Island Empire bent; While sending forth a reverend guest He seeks our liberty to test. The lowest form of life we find In reptile, man or beast combined. Most loathsome and repulsive all May well be known as cannibal. And yet a lower form I see In Monarchs that I mention three. Who seek the power, by stealth or theft To starve the innocent to death. Will kings and monarchs always fail To hear the weak and lowly wail. While they conspire by treaty bold The bread of all the world to hold? —27— Oh, triple vultures born and bred Upon the flesh of human dead. For while the love of God proclaim The world starvation is their aim. What spirit from on High that fell Could wander forth through realms of hell With fiendish heart and tongue of flame More misery for the Earth to claim? What warder of the Heavenly host, From dreaded vial they feareth most Because of carnal hearted kings To Earth distruction and disaster brings. Talk not to me of mystic charm To bid the Lion's power disarm, When Nature has the truth confessed, Tliat strong are by the weak confessed. . And when the Gods of Gold replace The Heavenly Kingdom's pow^er and grace The Monarchs will by force resign Their Kingdom's all to Father Time. Well may the wisdom of their light Supply the cause of wrongs to right And wonder if their foreign greed Will dominate our Southern need. Well may we wonder if designs That prompted war in former times Now seek their object to attain By League of Nations crafty frame. —28— The founders of our Nation fought For freedom's cause, as freemen ought; From Lexington to Lake Champlain Poured forth their blood from every vem. And by those stains of blood and strife That marked our Nation's early life No man, from Heaven to hell may dare Our Constitutional rights impair. And damn that brand of patriot Whose brain by filthy lucre rot Gives motion to his tongue's pollution "Hide behind the constitution." The constitution of our Nation Is the best in all the world And was written by real patriots of our land. We will hold it ever sacred With our banner still unfurled And Washington's fair warning in command. —29— IF LONDON RULED THE SUN, When I'm from care and labor free My thoughts at random run; I wonder what the w^orld would be If London ruled the sun. What think you the Hindoo w^ould do If London ruled the sun; And what could poor old Erin do, If London ruled the sun? The people of the sunny South, Might think it lots of fun To watch the corn and cotton grow If London ruled the sun. The new moon light might shine all night If London ruled the sun; The milkyway might last all day If London ruled the sun. The polar bear might lose his hair If London ruled the sun, And the kangaroo might melt in two If London ruled the sun.