SONGS ON THE BATTLE-FIELD. 19 from heaven was falling around him. In a short time, a little pool of water collected near his elbow and he thought if he could only reach that spot he might allay his raging thirst. He tried to get into a position which would enable him to obtain a mouthful, at least, of the muddy water; but in vain, and he must suffer the torture of seeing the means of relief within sight, while all his efforts were unavailing. "Never," said he, "did I feel so much the loss of any earthly blessing. By and by the shades of night fell around us, and the stars shone out clear and beautiful above the dark field, where so many had sunk down in death, and so many others lay wounded, writhing in pain, or faint with the loss of blood. Thus situated, I began to think of the great God who had given his Son to die a death of agony for me, and that he was in the heavens to which my eyes were turned, that he was there, above that scene of suffering, and above those glorious stars; and I felt that I was hastening home to meet him, and praise him there; and I felt that I ought to praise him then, even wounded as I was, on the battle-field. I could not help singing that beautiful hymn: — 'When I can read my title clear To mansions in the skies, And though I was not aware of it till then," said he, "it proved there was a Christian brother in the thicket near me. I could not see him, but was near enough to hear him. He took up the strain from me; and beyond him another, and then another, caught the words, and made them resound far and wide over the terrible battle-field of Shiloh. There was a peculiar echo in the place, and that added to the effect, as we made the night vocal with our hymns of praise to God." It is certain that men animated by such faith have the consciousness of serving God in serving their country, and that their presence in the army adds to it some of its `most important elements of strength and success. IV. THE MISSIONARY'S SON. The memory of the devoted missionary, Rev. William H. Pohlman,' of his saintly life and martyr death, is yet fragrant in all the churches. Let them add to this treasured memory still another as fresh and beautiful, — that of his only son, Lieutenant William Henry Pohlman, Assistant Adjutant of the Fifty-ninth Regiment of the New York Volunteers, who died July 21st, 1863, aged twentyone years, of wounds received in the battle of Gettysburg. Late in the afternoon of Friday, the eventful third of July, his left arm was frightfully shattered by a Minie ball; but the brave spirit did not quail. "No," he answered those who urged him to withdraw from the front, "never, while I have a sword-arm left to fight with!" An hour later, his sword-arm failed him too. Another ball, glancing from his sword-hilt, which it shattered, pierced his right wrist, severing an artery, and his battle-work was done. But not for him should the great work of the hour, the salvation of the republic, suffer interruption for a moment. 'Boys," he said to the soldiers who would have borne him from the field already almost won, "stay in your places; your country needs every man of you." And so he left them, regretting most of all that he could not recover the sword his mother gave him. Its empty scabbard, battered and blood-stained, but with its glorious legend, the keynote of his life, unmarred, "For God and your Country," 66 1 He was a missionary of the American Board in China, and lost his life by shipwreck in 1849. PASTOR AND PEOPLE ENLIST TOGETHER. 21 is now the most cherished treasure of her who filled a mother's place to the orphan boy. He reached the camp at last, fainting on the way from loss of blood, and was laid beside his beloved colonel. And now a new phase in the character of this knightly, nay, Christian hero, was to be developed. A trial, heavy for such as he, so full of exuberant vitality and rejoicing in his strength, was laid upon him, and he was cast into the fiery crucible of bodily anguish and bodily weakness. Sustained by strength beyond his own, nobly did he endure the test. His beautiful unselfishness and utter freedom from degrading vanity were most conspicuous. Withholding his name from the newspaper reporters, lest the sight of it among the killed and wounded might too rudely shock the tender hearts which he fain would spare all needless pain, his first care was to break the news of his condition as gently as possible. For this purpose he dictated a characteristic note on the day succeeding the battle. Beginning, not with his own achievements or sufferings, but with an exultant announcement of the victory won, he adds: "But the usual good fortune which has attended me in thirteen battles of the war has forsaken me in the fourteenth engagement. I bear honorable wounds in my country's cause." V. PASTOR AND PEOPLE ENLIST TOGETHER. A pastor in one of the Western States had in his congregation fifty-one men who had enlisted in the service of their country. They assembled to listen as they supposed to his parting address; but when he saw their patriotic zeal, he said to them, that if they were all going he should go too. At the door of the church they chose him as their captain, and now pastor and people are fighting together in this great struggle for the national life and the rights of humanity. It is estimated that the churches of the different Christian denominations throughout the country have been represented in the army, on the average, in the proportion of one to every seven of their male members. They have gone as volunteers, and not as drafted men. The churches in the older States, it is to be remembered, contain large numbers beyond the military age, and thus, of those liable to serve, this proportion is greater than that of one to seven. Many of the Western churches have exceeded this ratio of membership, in the contributions which they have made to the ranks of the army. Not a few of the smaller churches, in the less populated regions, have been left almost without any men at home, clergy or laity. VI. HE MADE HIS WILL BEFORE BATTLE. I transcribe the following sketch, with slight changes, from the Boston "Journal," under date of June 18th, 1862. Alas, that one so full of promise, more than a Marcellus in every augury of civic and private virtue, should only "be shown to us," and then be withdrawn! Yesterday, the remains of the late Major Edwin M. Smith passed through Boston on their way to Maine. He was the son of the late governor of that State, and was of a character so charming and so rare that public testimony should be borne to his virtues and services. He fell at the battle of Fair Oaks, in the van, leading the Fifth Michigan Regiment of Berry's Brigade, in their splendid work of that day. "Better," said his general, "better that I had lost a hundred men than that brave boy!" He was acting HE MADE HIS WILL BEFORE BATTLE. 23 as the chief of that general's staff, and that true officer knew him well. Young Smith had just returned from Europe, at the age of twenty-one, when the war commenced. Having gained much credit for his bravery and discretion, he was soon commissioned as major in the Maine Fourth, but at the urgent request of General Berry, finally accepted a place upon his staff, and acted as chief of his staff at the battles of Williamsburg and Fair Oaks. In fact, he led one wing, while General Berry commanded the other, in that brilliant charge and fight which saved Hooker's division, at Williamsburg. Smith there dashed forward with his Michigan regiment, and the Thirty-seventh New York, and, leaping the enemy's rifle-pits, forced his way through the abatis into the strongholds with an impetuosity which astonished all. Four of the enemy's bullets passed through his clothing, but left him unharmed! So popular and beloved did he become with these regiments, that they would often cheer him as he passed. His heart though brave was tender as a woman's. His hand was always open to the needy; and the sick found him the gentlest of all who breathed around them. Fond of all befitting sports, and active as a child, he was nevertheless of a mature and thoughtful nature; having a real love of country and the highest reverence for truth and law. Frail in body, he had an exalted spirit and an energetic will, and won the love of all who knew him. When his horse was brought to the White House to be sent home, a Michigan soldier said, "There goes the noble horse that leaped the rifle-pits at Williamsburg!" "Yes," said his comrade, "he had a noble rider then, but he has gone!" and the sturdy warrior could hardly utter his name. It was Berry's brigade which at the battle of Williamsburg came up just in time to save the day, after Hooker's division had been fighting at terrible odds for several hours, |