Poem for Monday

Hush'd Be The Camps To-Day
By Walt Whitman

1

Hush'd be the camps to-day;
And, soldiers, let us drape our war-worn weapons;
And each with musing soul retire, to celebrate,
Our dear commander's death.

No more for him life's stormy conflicts;
Nor victory, nor defeat—no more time’s dark events,
Charging like ceaseless clouds across the sky.

2

But sing, poet, in our name;
Sing of the love we bore him—because you, dweller in camps, know it truly.

As they invault the coffin there;
Sing—as they close the doors of earth upon him—one verse,
For the heavy hearts of soldiers.

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We drove up to Hanover to see my in-laws, since it's Paul's father's birthday in two days. We went out for Chinese buffet for lunch, then went into Gettysburg, where we visited some of the shops and went to the David Wills House, where Abraham Lincoln stayed in 1863 the night before he delivered the Gettysburg Address. The house celebrated its grand opening on Lincoln's 200th birthday last Thursday, with two rooms featuring video about the Civil War and Lincoln's legacy, plus two rooms restored to their 1863 appearance: Wills' study, where he planned the national Union cemetery beside the battlefield, and the guest bedroom where Lincoln slept.


Lincoln Slept Here: The original bed and bedspread used during Abraham Lincoln's visit to the home of David Wills.


Lincoln would have had a view through his window of the circle in the center of town, where the war spilled into the streets. Like many of the buildings in town, Wills' home was used as a makeshift hospital for soldiers wounded in fighting in the city.


The key to the bedroom is on display in a gallery in the next room.


One of the house's fireplaces, no longer used, is covered by viewscreens with a film about the significance of Lincoln's visit to Gettysburg and his speech there.


The one in Wills' office has been restored to its appearance in the 1860s.


This is David Wills' diary from Pennsylvania College (now Gettysburg College), from which he graduated in 1851, on display now in his house.


Perhaps because it's his birthday weekend, President and Mrs. Lincoln (or facsimiles thereof) were visiting.


Outside the Wills House, a statue of Lincoln indicates the importance of the building to a statue of a tourist holding a copy of the Gettysburg Address.

We also walked to A Little Irish, Too and the historic train station where Lincoln arrived in Gettysburg, then stopped at the Hanover train station where Lincoln paused en route to Gettysburg. Since we had had such a big lunch, we had bagels for dinner, then the birthday cake that Paul made for his father and some Valentine's Day candy. In the evening we watched the Masterpiece Theatre broadcast of the new Oliver Twist, from which I was distracted by various conversations with relatives but which I enjoyed a lot (terrific cast, nice sets) -- now we have to wait a week for the conclusion!