Dickinson College / Gilder Lehrman Institute

Tag: Old Soldier’s Home

How sleep the brave …

Unknown Soldiers 1 and 2 at Gettysburg National Cemetery

There is a story told of a visitor to the cemetery at the Old Soldier’s Home who encountered President Lincoln walking among the grave stones reciting this poem.

It has stuck with me since.

How Sleep the Brave
William Collins. 1721–1759

HOW sleep the brave, who sink to rest
By all their country’s wishes blest!
When Spring, with dewy fingers cold,
Returns to deck their hallow’d mould,
She there shall dress a sweeter sod Than Fancy’s feet have ever trod.

By fairy hands their knell is rung;
By forms unseen their dirge is sung;
There Honour comes, a pilgrim grey,
To bless the turf that wraps their clay;
And Freedom shall awhile repair
To dwell, a weeping hermit, there!

The general location of Gettysburg Address

"War" on the Gettysburg Monument

"History" on the Gettysburg Monument

Unknown Soldiers at Gettysburg National Cemetery

Row of gravestones at Gettysburg National Cemetery

 

“Local History as our Laboratory”

  • Maple Grove Civil War Memorial 
The discussion in class were great and I really like that Dr. Pinsker Matt spent time in a conversation with us about the blog entries. BTW Matt, thank you for your explanation of immediate abolition, gradual abolition and political abolition. That will give a great handle for me to use with my young charges. I’ve been playing with setting up an Abolition Convention and your distinctions will be useful.
The thing I became most curious about today was the presentation by Primary Research. As they started talking about using gravestones to plot philosophical change, I went back to an experience I had earlier this summer. I talked a bit about it in a blog I keep for my students, Declaration Address and Dream. My students will tell you I have an affection for cemeteries. I can say, with pride, that I have now openly wept in the first three national cemeteries after visiting Old Soldier’s Home and Lincoln’s Cottage a few weeks ago.
One of my visions for the new school year is giving my students the chance to be historians – not just academics and conjecture historians, but dirt under the fingernails historians. Maple Grove Cemetery in Wichita is one of several in the city and has a Civil War Memorial which it is renovating. I have been ruminating on how to do that using Maple Grove and Primary Research gives me a template by which to begin with.

Completely unrelated, but in the spirit of the Olympics, here is a blog post about an Olympian buried at Maple Grove. I also find his sister fascinating as well. Imagine being a African American nurse during the Jim Crow era.

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