Rebel Color-bearers at Shiloh: A Plea Against the Vindictive Cry Raised by Civilians Shortly After the Surrender at Appomattox
Rebel Color-bearers at Shiloh:A plea against the vindictive cry raised by civilians shortlyafter the surrender at Appomattox.
The color-bearers facing deathWhite in the whirling sulphurous wreath,Stand boldly out before the lineRight and left their glances go,Proud of each other, glorying in their show;Their battle-flags about them blow,And fold them as in flame divine:Such living robes are only seenRound martyrs burning on the green--And martyrs for the Wrong have been.
Perish their Cause! but mark the men--Mark the planted statues, thenDraw trigger on them if you can.
The leader of a patriot-bandEven so could view rebels who so could stand;And this when peril pressed him sore,Left aidless in the shivered front of war--Skulkers behind, defiant foes before,And fighting with a broken brand.The challenge in that courage rare--Courage defenseless, proudly bare--Never could tempt him; he could dareStrike up the leveled rifle there.
Sunday at Shiloh, and the dayWhen Stonewall charged--McClellan’s crimson May,And Chickamauga’s wave of death,And of the Wilderness the cypress wreath--All these have passed away.The life in the veins of Treason lags,Her daring color-bearers drop their flags,And yield. Now shall we fire?Can poor spite be?Shall nobleness in victory less aspireThan in reverse? Spare Spleen her ire,And think how Grant met Lee.
Words in this poem
- rebel a.
- Pertaining to rebels or rebellion; acting in revolt; rebellious; as, rebel troops. [F. rebelle, fr. L. rebellis. See Rebel, v. t.]
- shiloh n.
- A word used by Jacob on his deathbed, and interpreted variously, as [Heb. shiloh, literally, quiet, rest, fr. shalah to rest.]
- vindictive a.
- Disposed to revenge; prompted or characterized by revenge; revengeful. [For vindicative, confused with L. vindicta revenge, punishment, fr. vindicare to vindicate. Cf. Vindicative.]
- shortly adv.
- In a short or brief time or manner; soon; quickly. [AS. sceortlice.]
- boldly adv.
- In a bold manner. [AS. bealdlice.]
- aidless a.
- Helpless; without aid.
- defiant a.
- Full of defiance; bold; insolent; as, a defiant spirit or act. [Cf. F. défiant, p. pr. of défier. See Defy.]
- defenseless a.
- Destitute of defense; unprepared to resist attack; unable to oppose; unprotected.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- nobleness n.
- The quality or state of being noble; greatness; dignity; magnanimity; elevation of mind, character, or station; nobility; grandeur; stateliness.
- aspire v. t.
- To aspire to; to long for; to try to reach; to mount to.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Rebel Color-bearers at Shiloh: A Plea Against the Vindictive Cry Raised by Civilians Shortly After the Surrender at Appomattox is in the public domain. This text is taken from Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War, Project Gutenberg ebook #12384; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Herman Melville, Rebel Color-bearers at Shiloh: A Plea Against the Vindictive Cry Raised by Civilians Shortly After the Surrender at Appomattox, in Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War (1866), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12384, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/melville-battle-pieces/rebel-color-bearers-at-shiloh-a-plea-against-the-vindictive-cry-raised-by-civilians-shortly-after-the-surrender-at-appomattox.html, id L26273.
Form and metre
Rebel Color-bearers at Shiloh: A Plea Against the Vindictive Cry Raised by Civilians Shortly After the Surrender at Appomattox is 38 lines in 5 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%).
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 2 --ABBBACC- death · wreath · lineA · goB · showB · blowB · divineA · seenC · greenC · been
- 3 AA- menA · thenA · can
- 4 AABBBACCCC bandA · standA · soreB · warB · beforeB · brandA · rareC · bareC · dareC · thereC
- 5 AA--ABBCDCCD dayA · mayA · death · wreath · awayA · lagsB · flagsB · fireC · beD · aspireC · ireC · leeD
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Rebel Color-bearers at Shiloh: | 9 | /˘/˘/˘·/˘ |
| A plea against the vindictive cry raised by civilians shortly | 16 | ·····˘/˘···˘/˘/˘ |
| after the surrender at Appomattox. | 11 | ···˘/˘····· |
| The color-bearers facing death | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| White in the whirling sulphurous wreath, | 9 | ···/˘/˘˘· |
| Stand boldly out before the line | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Right and left their glances go, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Proud of each other, glorying in their show; | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Their battle-flags about them blow, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And fold them as in flame divine: | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Such living robes are only seen | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Round martyrs burning on the green-- | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| And martyrs for the Wrong have been. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Perish their Cause! but mark the men-- | 8 | /˘······ |
| Mark the planted statues, then | 7 | ··/˘/·· |
| Draw trigger on them if you can. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The leader of a patriot-band | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Even so could view rebels who so could stand; | 10 | /···/˘···· |
| And this when peril pressed him sore, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Left aidless in the shivered front of war-- | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Skulkers behind, defiant foes before, | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| And fighting with a broken brand. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The challenge in that courage rare-- | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Courage defenseless, proudly bare-- | 8 | /˘˘/˘/˘· |
| Never could tempt him; he could dare | 8 | /˘······ |
| Strike up the leveled rifle there. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Sunday at Shiloh, and the day | 8 | /··/˘··· |
| When Stonewall charged--McClellan’s crimson May, | 10 | ·/··˘/˘/˘· |
| And Chickamauga’s wave of death, | 8 | ········ |
| And of the Wilderness the cypress wreath-- | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| All these have passed away. | 7 | ····˘˘/ |
| The life in the veins of Treason lags, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Her daring color-bearers drop their flags, | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| And yield. Now shall we fire? | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Can poor spite be? | 4 | ···· |
| Shall nobleness in victory less aspire | 10 | ·/˘˘·/˘·˘/ |
| Than in reverse? Spare Spleen her ire, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| And think how Grant met Lee. | 6 | ······ |
On this poem
“Under cover of the fire from the bluffs, the rebels rushed down, crossed the ford, and in a moment were seen forming this side the creek in open fields, and within close musket-range. Their color-bearers stepped defiantly to the front as the engagement opened furiously; the rebels pouring in sharp, quick volleys of musketry, and their batteries above continuing to support them with a destructive fire. Our sharpshooters wanted to pick off the audacious rebel color-bearers, but Colonel Stuart interposed: ‘No, no, they’re too brave fellows to be killed.’”
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