Came across an Historical Marker database entry for a plaque regarding this poem in Newport News, Virginia.
This is an excellent poem for the fallen, especially those that are listed as unknown.
I'm not sure when he made it, but it might have been in a collection of poems called "Masque of Pandora and Other Poems" published in 1875.
A NAMELESS GRAVE
"A soldier of the Union mustered out,"
Is the inscription on an unknown grave
At Newport News, beside the salt-sea wave,
Nameless and dateless, the sentinel or scout
Shot down in skirmish, or disastrous rout
Of battle, when the loud artillery drave
Its iron wedges through the ranks of the brave
And doomed battalions, storming the redoubt.
Thou unknown hero sleeping by the sea
In thy forgotten grave! with secret shame
I feel my pulse beat, my forehead burn,
When i remember thou hast given for me
All that thou hadst, thy life, thy very name,
And I CAN GIVE THEE NOTHING IN RETURN.
Quite a selection of poetry; the last part especially. Definitely puts into words my feelings whenever I see the graves of the unknown, especially military.
Well-Done Longfellow. --Old B-Runner
The Battle of Fort Fisher, N.C.
