Inscription at the Tomb for the Unknown Revolutionary Soldier
Continuing with the Independence Day theme, this is a great example of poetry as a marker of solemnity, a way to convey import and significance. In Alexandria, VA, in 1826, the body of an unidentified soldier wearing a Revolutionary War uniform was discovered during an expansion on the site of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church. This body was reinterred in the burial ground at the Old Presbyterian Meeting House, where it was tended, but not much noticed, for 100 years. In 1928, on George Washington's birthday, the gravesite was dedicated as an official monument to the unknown soldiers of the Revolutionary War (permanent memorial was put in place a year later, they moved quick back in the day!).
This poem is the inscription found on the memorial. It is an elegant epitaph of unknown authorship. Read it word for word and revel in the beauty and meaning of it. And remember too, on this Independence Day weekend, that many who fought and died for this nation were never named. They are dead just the same and we are obligated to honor them.
Inscription on the Memorial at the Tomb for the Unknown Revolutionary Soldier in Alexandria, VA
Author unknown
Here lies a soldier of the Revolution
Whose identity is known but to God.
His was an idealism
That recognized a Supreme Being,
That planted religious liberty on our shores,
That overthrew despotism,
That established a people's government,
That wrote a Constitution
Setting metes and bounds
Of delegated authority,
That fixed a standard of value
Upon men above gold
And lifted high the torch of civil liberty
Along the pathway of mankind.
In ourselves his soul exists as part of ours,
His memory's mansion.
This poem is the inscription found on the memorial. It is an elegant epitaph of unknown authorship. Read it word for word and revel in the beauty and meaning of it. And remember too, on this Independence Day weekend, that many who fought and died for this nation were never named. They are dead just the same and we are obligated to honor them.
Inscription on the Memorial at the Tomb for the Unknown Revolutionary Soldier in Alexandria, VA
Author unknown
Here lies a soldier of the Revolution
Whose identity is known but to God.
His was an idealism
That recognized a Supreme Being,
That planted religious liberty on our shores,
That overthrew despotism,
That established a people's government,
That wrote a Constitution
Setting metes and bounds
Of delegated authority,
That fixed a standard of value
Upon men above gold
And lifted high the torch of civil liberty
Along the pathway of mankind.
In ourselves his soul exists as part of ours,
His memory's mansion.
Posted by Annmarie at 7/5/2009 11:19 PM 
Categories: today's words, occasions, dedication
Tags: inspiration Revolutionary War Memorial 4th of July
Categories: today's words, occasions, dedication
Tags: inspiration Revolutionary War Memorial 4th of July
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