- description
- # A Dirge for McPherson,[13]
## Overview
"A Dirge for McPherson,[13]" is a poem that appears as a segment within a larger collection. It was extracted from the file `battle_pieces_and_aspects_of_the_war.txt` and is part of the "Melville Complete Works" collection. The poem is dated July 1864 and commemorates McPherson, who was killed in front of Atlanta.
## Context
This poem is included in the collection "[Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War.](arke:01KG8AJ6FNQ0XKWBY52P8DRPC9)", a work by Herman Melville. The collection was extracted from the file "[battle_pieces_and_aspects_of_the_war.txt](arke:01KG89J1G8S4TRWXNCBRKCRKS8)" and is part of the broader "[Melville Complete Works](arke:01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW)" collection. This specific poem follows "[The Eagle of the Blue.[12]](arke:01KG8AJNC7Q1G8RJSW9Q18QAW7)" and precedes "[At the Cannon’s Mouth.](arke:01KG8AJNCEX4VV3K5MRD445X1V)".
## Contents
The poem is a lament for General James Birdseye McPherson, a Union Army officer killed during the Battle of Atlanta in July 1864. The verses describe military funeral rites, including reversed arms, muffled drums, and a procession to the grave. It reflects on the transient nature of human life ("Man is noble, man is brave, / But man’s--a weed") and the enduring nature of fame, likening McPherson to Sarpedon, a hero from Homer's *Iliad*.
- description_generated_at
- 2026-01-30T20:48:27.646Z
- description_model
- gemini-2.5-flash-lite
- description_title
- A Dirge for McPherson,[13]
- end_line
- 2588
- extracted_at
- 2026-01-30T20:47:35.910Z
- extracted_by
- structure-extraction-lambda
- start_line
- 2546
- text
- A Dirge for McPherson,[13]
Killed in front of Atlanta.
(July, 1864.)
Arms reversed and banners craped--
Muffled drums;
Snowy horses sable-draped--
McPherson comes.
_But, tell us, shall we know him more,
Lost-Mountain and lone Kenesaw?_
Brave the sword upon the pall--
A gleam in gloom;
So a bright name lighteth all
McPherson’s doom.
Bear him through the chapel-door--
Let priest in stole
Pace before the warrior
Who led. Bell--toll!
Lay him down within the nave,
The Lesson read--
Man is noble, man is brave,
But man’s--a weed.
Take him up again and wend
Graveward, nor weep:
There’s a trumpet that shall rend
This Soldier’s sleep.
Pass the ropes the coffin round,
And let descend;
Prayer and volley--let it sound
McPherson’s end.
_True fame is his, for life is o’er--
Sarpedon of the mighty war._
- title
- A Dirge for McPherson,[13]