Grant The Death of General Grant: Long Forgotten Poem by H. B. Hill, M.D.

lelliott19

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'Twas his to avert most direful fates,
By reuniting dissevered States,
With flaming sword allay the hates,
Between brothers.
His matchless virtue still animates,
Surpassing others.


This is the final sestet of a three stanza poem that was printed in the August 8, 1885 issue of The Sunny South. (Atlanta, Ga.). A note appearing with the article, says the poem was reprinted, by request, from the Leesburg News. I assume this was the Leesburg, VA news, but have no way to be sure. The author is listed as H. B. Hill, M. D., apparently a medical doctor, however no further information is provided. It's an unusual format for a poem, with just three sestets. And it seems to end abruptly, perhaps suggesting that Grant's work was yet unfinished? As far as I can find, other than this single occurrence, this poem has never been published or reprinted since. I think it deserves to be seen once again.
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Sources:
Image: public domain borrowed from @GrantCottage1885 previous post
Poem: The Sunny South. (Atlanta, Ga.), August 08, 1885, page 8.
 
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Thank you for bringing this to our attention @lelliott19 .

'Twas his to avert most direful fates,
By reuniting dissevered States,
With flaming sword allay the hates,
Between brothers.
His matchless virtue still animates,
Surpassing others.
These are powerful words, and unusual, too, in the sense 'with flaming sword allay the hates, Between brothers.' Probably worth pondering on for a while. Sometimes it takes war to bring peace. An unfortunate irony. But Grant never appeared to want to extend any 'ill will' towards his enemy. There is a 'matchless virtue' in his ability to pave the path to reconciliation.
 
Without him, there would be no United States.
You are absolutely correct! Grant was one of those unique individual Americans who have risen to save this nation during the crisises and should be honored. Lee himself knew this as well reported by his retort:
"Sir, if you ever again presume to speak disrespectfully of General Grant in my presence, either you or I will sever his connection with this University."
Grant despite his faults was just the man to save this Nation from splitting into halves
Regards
David
 
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