Fast asleep the boys are lying,
in their low and narrow tents,
And no battle-cry can wake them,
and no orders call them hence;
And the yearnings of the mother,
and the anguish of the wife,
Can not with their magic presence
call the soldier back to life;
And the brother’s manly sorrow,
and the father’s mournful pride,
Can not give back to his country
him who for his country died.
They who for the trembling Nation
in its hour of trial bled,
Lie, in these years of triumph,
with our Army of the Dead.

From the poem Our Army of the Dead by Will McKendree Carleton, c. 1873.

Thank you to all of our fallen heroes and the families they leave behind, we are forever grateful for your sacrifice. Happy Memorial Day from Past and Present Home Gallery, the Antique Store with Character.