THE BLUE AND THE GRAY By the flow of the inland river, Whence the fleets of iron have fled, Where the blades of the grave grass quiver, Asleep are the ranks of the dead; Under the sod and the dew, Waiting for judgment day; Under the one, the Blue; Under the other, the Gray. These in the robings of glory, Those in the gloom of defeat, All with the battle blood gory, In the dusk of eternity meet; Under the sod and the dew, Waiting the judgment day; Under the laurel, the Blue; Under the willow, the Gray. From the silence of sorrowful hours The desolate mourners go, Lovingly laden with flowers Alike for the friend and the foe, Under the sod and the dew, Waiting the judgment day; Under the roses, the Blue; Under the lilies, the Gray. So with an equal splendor The morning sun rays fall, With a touch, impartially tender, On the blossoms blooming for all; Under the sod and the dew, Waiting the judgment day; 'Broidered with gold, the Blue; Mellowed with gold, the Gray. So, when the summer calleth, On forest and field of grain With an equal murmur falleth The cooling drip of the rain; Under the sod and the dew, Waiting for judgment day; Wet with the rain, the Blue; Wet with the rain, the Gray. Sadly, but not with upbraiding, The generous deed was done; In the storm of the years that are fading, No braver battle was won; Under the sod and the dew, Waiting for judgment day; Under the blossoms, the Blue; Under the garlands, the Gray. No more shall the war cry sever, Or the winding rivers be red; They banish our anger forever When they laurel the graves of our dead! Under the sod and the dew, Waiting the judgment day; Love and tears for the Blue, Tears and love for the Gray. -- Francis Miles Finch On December 13, 1862, Union forces assaulted Confederate entrenchments along a ridge known as Marye's Heights, in Fredericksburg, VA. Fourteen waves of attackers were sent across open fields against the fortified Confederate position. All were shattered by repeated volleys of Confederate fire. The Irish Brigade was in the third wave, and achieved international fame with the tenaciousness of their attack. Eliciting cheers from their Confederate adversaries, many of whom were Irish themselves, their attack collapsed when the Brigade's officers were felled. Of the fourteen attacks, the Irish came closer to attaining the ridge. The Brigade was permanently crippled by the 45 percent losses it sustained in the attack. In the aftermath of the futile assault on Marye's Heights, General Robert E. LEE commented on the extraordinary courage exhibited by the men of the Irish Brigade: "Never were men so brave. They ennobled their race by the splendid gallantry on that desperate ! occasion. Though totally routed, they reaped a harvest of glory. Their brilliant, though hopeless assaults on our lines, excited the hearty applause of our officers and men."