- description
- # ON THE SLAIN AT CHICKAMAUGA
## Overview
"ON THE SLAIN AT CHICKAMAUGA" is a chapter (poem) extracted from the text file [john_marr_and_other_poems.txt](arke:01KG89J19Y3FNVN5KWASY78BP4). It is part of the poetry collection [John Marr and Other Poems](arke:01KG8AJ5CWVMSM9AY2938E996H) within the larger [Melville Complete Works](arke:01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW) collection. The poem consists of three stanzas reflecting on the honorable nature of both victory and sacrifice in war, specifically referencing the Battle of Chickamauga.
## 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 is positioned in the sequence of poems between [THE MOUND BY THE LAKE](arke:01KG8AJJQ0F2Y4WQX6GTMYD7FM) and [AN UNINSCRIBED MONUMENT](arke:01KG8AJKEDP6FY7VRN2BBKMJ8C) within the [John Marr and Other Poems](arke:01KG8AJ5CWVMSM9AY2938E996H) collection.
## Contents
The poem "ON THE SLAIN AT CHICKAMAUGA" is a reflection on the themes of war, honor, and sacrifice. It contrasts the "happy" lives of those who survive war unscathed with the "honorable" mischance of those who die in battle. The poem suggests that even in defeat, the unwavering will and aim of the fallen soldiers create a memorial that is "due." The poem specifically references the Battle of Chickamauga, a significant battle in the American Civil War.
- description_generated_at
- 2026-01-30T20:48:09.895Z
- description_model
- gemini-2.5-flash-lite
- description_title
- ON THE SLAIN AT CHICKAMAUGA
- end_line
- 3486
- extracted_at
- 2026-01-30T20:47:32.310Z
- extracted_by
- structure-extraction-lambda
- start_line
- 3464
- text
- ON THE SLAIN AT CHICKAMAUGA
Happy are they and charmed in life
Who through long wars arrive unscarred
At peace. To such the wreath be given,
If they unfalteringly have striven—
In honor, as in limb, unmarred.
Let cheerful praise be rife,
And let them live their years at ease,
Musing on brothers who victorious died—
Loved mates whose memory shall ever please.
And yet mischance is honorable too—
Seeming defeat in conflict justified
Whose end to closing eyes is hid from view.
The will, that never can relent—
The aim, survivor of the bafflement,
Make this memorial due.
- title
- ON THE SLAIN AT CHICKAMAUGA