| James and Mary Ford, eds. Every Day in the Year. 1902. | | | | September 19 | | On the Slain at Chickamauga | | By Herman Melville (1819–1891) |
| | | | One of the severest battles of the Civil War, fought on Sept. 19, 1863. The Confederates, under Bragg, defeated the Federals under Rosecrans. |
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HAPPY are they and charmed in life | |
| Who through long wars arrive unscarred | |
| At peace. To such the wreath be given, | |
| If they unfalteringly have striven— | |
| In honor, as in limb unmarred. | 5 |
| Let cheerful praise be rife, | |
| And let them live their years at ease, | |
| Musing on brothers who victorious died— | |
| Loved mates whose memory shall ever please. | |
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| And yet mischance is honorable too— | 10 |
| Seeming defeat in conflict justified, | |
| Whose end to closing eyes is hid from view. | |
| The will, that never can relent— | |
| The aim, survivor of the bafflement, | |
| Make this memorial due. | 15 | | |
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