Civil War Poetry By: AJ Sparagna

Concept For my second America alive project I decided to dabble in the poetic portion of early American history. To do this I decided I would find a poet who’s work I believed represented a strong feeling amongst Americans then, that still compares to the attitudes and feelings of modern day Americans. Once I found that poet I would use their work as a catalyst to write my own civil war poem.

Poet Bio Francis Miles Finch Besides being a poet, Finch was a judge and a scholar at Cornell university. He was Born on June 9 th, 1827 and would go on to attend Yale University. Following his time at Yale he established himself as a prominent Judge and would later move onto assist political campaigns dating around the civil war era. His poetry was bold and outlined the madness of the civil war and everything surrounding it.

The Poem His poem “The Blue and the Grey” became extremely popular and remains that way to this day. The poem’s title refers to the two set of uniforms worn by the North and the South during the civil war. Its from this poem that I gained my inspiration to write my own poem. I used to the time period, the poems passion, and knowledge of the era to write my poem.

My Poem Freshly dressed and prepped for war, The youth embark Their future’s a blur. With a strong dedication, They rep the red, white and blue Leaving kin sad and unsure. May we be laid to rest By our families and friends A cherished tradition. So easily abandoned But one that is never out of mind; This is a parent’s difficult mission. The spoils of victory Shall quickly deplete; But, those who perished shall remain. Endless bleak gravestones In serine green meadows, A silent reminder of the pain. America stands strong against all opposition The sadness of war engraved, Those who still stand Must uphold her values For those who couldn’t be saved!

Cultural Tension Belief v. Dehumanization What I thought was a prevalent tension amongst Finch’s poem as well as mine was a feeling of detachment caused by war. In order to support their beliefs and ideas in regards to the country, the South fought the North but in this fighting came a feeling a dehumanization. A line was crossed and this fight for freedom transitioned into mindless killing. Each side no longer viewed their opposition as other human beings but simply a thing standing in the way. So as a result a question arises, at what point is fighting for your beliefs worth defying many of the beliefs themselves?