City - Elmira State - NEW YORK Country - United States
About
The Drummer Boy of Shiloh (Will S. Hays)
On Shiloh's dark and bloody ground The dead and wounded lay, Amongst them was a drummer boy Who beat the drums that day. A wounded soldier held him up His drum was by his side; He clasped his hands, then raised his eyes And prayed before he died. He clasped his hands, then raised his eyes And prayed before he died.
Look down upon the battle field, Oh, Thou our Heavenly Friend! Have mercy on our sinful souls! The soldiers cried, "Amen! " For gathered 'round a little group, Each brave man knelt and cried. They listened to the drummer boy Who prayed before he died. They listened to the drummer boy Who prayed before he died.
"Oh, mother," said the dying boy, "Look down from Heaven on me, Receive me to thy fond embrace- Oh, take me home to thee. I've loved my country as my God; To serve them both I've tried." He smiled, shook hands---death seized the boy Who prayed before he died; He smiled, shook hands---death seized the boy Who prayed before he died.
Each soldier wept, then, like a child, Stout hearts were they, and brave; The flag his winding sheet, God's Book The key unto his grave. They wrote upon a simple board These words: "This is a guide To those who'd mourn the drummer boy Who prayed before he died; To those who'd mourn the drummer boy Who prayed before he died."
Ye angels' round the Throne of Grace, Look down upon the braves Who fought and died on Shiloh's plain, Now slumb'ring in their graves! How many homes made desolate? How many hearts have sighed? How many, like that drummer boy, Who prayed before they died; How many, like that drummer boy, Who prayed before they died!
For those who may not know Shiloh was one of the bloodiest battles of the US Civil War. Almost 100,000 men were involved and about 24,000 became casualties. In describing the battlefield General Grant, the Union commander, later said, "it would have been possible to walk across the clearing in any direction stepping on dead bodies without a foot touching the ground."
Nikon SB-600 w/ photoflex diffuser fired via SC-17 cord TTL to model left and above. Slave strobes fired behind and to model right from the floor. Model left after the strobes fired for the remainder of the 30 sec exposure.
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