It seems only appropriate, given both the time of the year, and the focus of this site, that we pause a moment to thank Henry Wadsworth Longfellow for his gift, his great gift, to posterity. Longfellow, one of America’s preeminent poets, was a native of New England, and he lived with his wife, Fanny, and their five children--Charles, Ernest, Alice, Edith, and Allegra-- in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Tragedy struck both the nation the Longfellow family in 1861: General Pierre G. T. Beauregard, Army of the Confederate States of America, fired the opening salvoes of the American Civil War on April 12, and just a a short three months later, on July 10, his wife, Frances Appleton Longfellow died when a flame from a candle ignited some sealing wax that had accidently dropped to her dress. In his efforts to put out the flames that had engulfed his wife, Longfellow received extensive injuries to his hands, arms, and face, including some that left some sever scars on his face. As fate and custom would have it, Fanny Longfellow was buried on July 13, 1861—the 18th anniversary of their marriage. Longfellow was, for the most part, not a person given to politics and, if he was against anything, it was the whole idea of a war had divided the nation. His oldest son Charles, however, , was not of the same mind: he was very much both against slavery, and for the Union cause. When his father refused to give him permission to enlist, the 17 year old Charles ran away from home in March 1863, hopped a train that would take him to Washington, DC and, once there, joined the 1st Massachusetts Artillery as an enlisted man. Shortly thereafter, he was offered a commission as a lieutenant with the 1st Massachusetts Cavalry Regiment in the Army of the Potomac. On November 27, while engaged in skirmishes during the battle of New Hope Church (“Mine Run Campaign”), Charles was severely injured: a bullet entered his left shoulder, traveled across his back (just slightly nicking his spinal column), and exited just below his right shoulder. It’s reported that Charles just barely escaped being paralyzed. Upon receiving the news of his son’s grievous injury, Longfellow travelled to Virginia, and brought the boy home. There, Longfellow not only grieved over the loss of his wife, but worried constantly that, even if his son did not die as a result of the injuries he’d received, he might never regain full use of his limbs. One can only imagine the depths to which Henry Longfellow’s spirits plummeted during Christmastide 1863. And, given not only the loss of his wife, but the continuing need for Henry to nurse Charles—along with the fact that, in December 1863, the eventual outcome of the Civil War was a matter that was still very much in doubt, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow penned a truly remarkable poem; one filled with hope, optimism, and the fervent belief that “The Wrong shall fail, The Right prevail, With peace on earth, good-will to men.” He titled his poem “Christmas Bells.” You will find it—in its seven stanza entirety—below. In 1872, John Baptiste Calkin set the poem to music and, in doing so, he not only made some minor changes needed to better adapt it to the tune, but eliminated the period-specific fourth and fifth paragraphs and gave the piece a new name. Today, we all know it as “I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day.” I’m also providing a link that will not only provide you with a stirring rendition of this much loved song, but will put up some rather remarkable images of some of the people and places involved in that war. Merry Christmas! May we someday truly have “Peace on earth” (and, the sooner, the better)! CHRISTMAS BELLS (The original poem, complete with all seven stanzas) I heard the bells on Christmas Day Their old familiar carols play, And wild and sweet The words repeat Of peace on earth, good-will to men! And thought how, as the day had come, The belfries of all Christendom Had rolled along The unbroken song Of peace on earth, good-will to men! Till, ringing, singing on its way, The world revolved from night to day, A voice, a chime A chant sublime Of peace on earth, good-will to men! Then from each black accursed mouth The cannon thundered in the South, And with the sound The carols drowned Of peace on earth, good-will to men! It was as if an earthquake rent The hearth-stones of a continent, And made forlorn The households born Of peace on earth, good-will to men! And in despair I bowed my head; There is no peace on earth, I said; For hate is strong, And mocks the song Of peace on earth, good-will to men! Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: God is not dead; nor doth he sleep! The Wrong shall fail, The Right prevail, With peace on earth, good-will to men! ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Christmas Day, 1863) ~ https://youtube/watch?v=oZtNlZmnEMU
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 01:18:47 +0000
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