Death at Chantilly
_______
Draped o’er a fallen stump of life,
   my belly filled with lead,
I lay here still - soaked in blood,
   my body cold and dead.

September one, eighteen sixty two
   ‘round the base of Ox Hill,
I met the reaper face to face
   as men come forth to kill.

I rose above myself that day
   to watch the men in fight.
The stench and smoke filled the air
   and haunted the blackness of night.

I watched men trample me
   as they scurried in fear of life.
I watched a man curse my soul
   as he stabbed me with his knife.

Come ! Come ! You men! -
   you helpless victims of hate,
no harm can you bestow to me,
   as I have met my fate.

Your day will come! when you meet me here
   this sacred place of the sky.
You will grieve your spirit to tears
   as you ask the question – Why?

Barnum Taylor © 1998

_____________________________________________________
Visit a really nice Web Site
about the Battle of Ox Hill ("Chantilly") @ http://www.espd.com/oxhill 
These people have done a great job in gathering material about the Battle
and compiling it into a Web Site.