| James and Mary Ford, eds. Every Day in the Year. 1902. | | | | July 3 | | To the Spirit of Abraham Lincoln | | By Richard Watson Gilder (1844–1909) |
| | | | Reunion at Gettysburg twenty-five years after the battle. |
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SHADE of our greatest, O look down today! | |
| Here the long, dread midsummer battle roared, | |
| And brother in brother plunged the accursed sword;— | |
| Here foe meets foe once more in proud array | |
| Yet not as once to harry and to slay | 5 |
| But to strike hands, and with sublime accord | |
| Weep tears heroic for the souls that soared | |
| Quick from earth’s carnage to the starry way. | |
| Each fought for what he deemed the people’s good, | |
| And proved his bravery by his offered life, | 10 |
| And sealed his honor with his outpoured blood; | |
| But the Eternal did direct the strife, | |
| And on this sacred field one patriot host | |
| Now calls thee father,—dear, majestic ghost! | | | |
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