- description
- # ON THE GRAVE OF A YOUNG CAVALRY OFFICER KILLED IN THE VALLEY OF VIRGINIA
## Overview
This is a poem titled "ON THE GRAVE OF A YOUNG CAVALRY OFFICER KILLED IN THE VALLEY OF VIRGINIA" (type: chapter) extracted from the text file [john_marr_and_other_poems.txt](arke:01KG89J19Y3FNVN5KWASY78BP4). It is part of the [John Marr and Other Poems](arke:01KG8AJ5CWVMSM9AY2938E996H) poetry collection, which is itself part of the larger [Melville Complete Works](arke:01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW) collection. The poem consists of one stanza of six lines.
## Context
The poem was extracted from the source text file [john_marr_and_other_poems.txt](arke:01KG89J19Y3FNVN5KWASY78BP4) as part of a structure extraction process. It appears in the [John Marr and Other Poems](arke:01KG8AJ5CWVMSM9AY2938E996H) collection between the poems [AN UNINSCRIBED MONUMENT](arke:01KG8AJKEDP6FY7VRN2BBKMJ8C) and [A REQUIEM](arke:01KG8AJKEHZVZV2WZ3MBWQ259P). The [Melville Complete Works](arke:01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW) collection contains various works by Herman Melville.
## Contents
The poem is a short elegy for a young cavalry officer who died in the Valley of Virginia. It reflects on the officer's beauty, youth, manners, friendships, wealth, and mind, but suggests that his "happier fortune" lies in his grave.
- description_generated_at
- 2026-01-30T20:48:10.008Z
- description_model
- gemini-2.5-flash-lite
- description_title
- ON THE GRAVE OF A YOUNG CAVALRY OFFICER KILLED IN THE VALLEY OF VIRGINIA
- end_line
- 3524
- extracted_at
- 2026-01-30T20:47:32.310Z
- extracted_by
- structure-extraction-lambda
- start_line
- 3512
- text
- ON THE GRAVE OF A YOUNG CAVALRY OFFICER KILLED IN THE VALLEY OF
VIRGINIA
Beauty and youth, with manners sweet, and friends—
Gold, yet a mind not unenriched had he
Whom here low violets veil from eyes.
But all these gifts transcended be:
His happier fortune in this mound you see.
- title
- ON THE GRAVE OF A YOUNG CAVALRY OFFICER KILLED IN THE VALLEY OF VIRGINIA