{"id":"01KG8AJPZR7NT2M54Y2YFY414Q","cid":"bafkreieyo27qur7ygdnnllhhdqtsj243fme4t3o66sbiqrwzs54szhatzy","type":"segment","properties":{"description":"# Rebel Color-bearers at Shiloh:\n## Overview\nThis is a segment of poetry titled \"Rebel Color-bearers at Shiloh:\" extracted from [Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War.](arke:01KG8AJ6FNQ0XKWBY52P8DRPC9). The segment consists of lines 3289-3329 of the source text. It was extracted on January 30, 2026.\n\n## Context\nThe poem is part of [Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War.](arke:01KG8AJ6FNQ0XKWBY52P8DRPC9), a collection included in the [Melville Complete Works](arke:01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW). The source file for this segment is [battle_pieces_and_aspects_of_the_war.txt](arke:01KG89J1G8S4TRWXNCBRKCRKS8). This segment is preceded by [On the Slain Collegians.](arke:01KG8AJPZRD7P3K0MVNK6STXQX) and followed by [America.](arke:01KG8AJQNXCJSQ2FM065ZFKMG1).\n\n## Contents\nThe poem reflects on the young soldiers who fought and died at the Battle of Shiloh during the American Civil War. It laments the loss of life on both sides, portraying the soldiers as youthful and idealistic, driven by honor and societal pressures. The poem touches on themes of maternal grief, the fleeting nature of youth, and the perceived glory of dying in battle. It questions the righteousness of either side's cause while acknowledging the shared youth and sacrifices of the soldiers.\n","description_generated_at":"2026-01-30T20:48:24.374Z","description_model":"gemini-2.5-flash-lite","description_title":"Rebel Color-bearers at Shiloh:","end_line":3329,"extracted_at":"2026-01-30T20:47:35.910Z","extracted_by":"structure-extraction-lambda","label":"Rebel Color-bearers at Shiloh:","source_file":"01KG89J1G8S4TRWXNCBRKCRKS8","start_line":3289,"text":"\r\nWoe for the homes of the North,\r\nAnd woe for the seats of the South;\r\nAll who felt life’s spring in prime,\r\nAnd were swept by the wind of their place and time--\r\n  All lavish hearts, on whichever side,\r\nOf birth urbane or courage high,\r\nArmed them for the stirring wars--\r\nArmed them--some to die.\r\n    Apollo-like in pride,\r\nEach would slay his Python--caught\r\nThe maxims in his temple taught--\r\n  Aflame with sympathies whose blaze\r\nPerforce enwrapped him--social laws,\r\n  Friendship and kin, and by-gone days--\r\nVows, kisses--every heart unmoors,\r\nAnd launches into the seas of wars.\r\nWhat could they else--North or South?\r\nEach went forth with blessings given\r\nBy priests and mothers in the name of Heaven;\r\n    And honor in both was chief.\r\nWarred one for Right, and one for Wrong?\r\nSo be it; but they both were young--\r\nEach grape to his cluster clung,\r\nAll their elegies are sung.\r\n\r\nThe anguish of maternal hearts\r\n  Must search for balm divine;\r\nBut well the striplings bore their fated parts\r\n  (The heavens all parts assign)--\r\nNever felt life’s care or cloy.\r\nEach bloomed and died an unabated Boy;\r\nNor dreamed what death was--thought it mere\r\nSliding into some vernal sphere.\r\nThey knew the joy, but leaped the grief,\r\nLike plants that flower ere comes the leaf--\r\nWhich storms lay low in kindly doom,\r\nAnd kill them in their flush of bloom.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r","title":"Rebel Color-bearers at Shiloh:"},"relationships":[{"peer":"01KG8AJ6FNQ0XKWBY52P8DRPC9","peer_type":"poetry_collection","predicate":"in"},{"peer":"01KG89J1G8S4TRWXNCBRKCRKS8","peer_type":"file","predicate":"extractedFrom"},{"peer":"01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW","peer_type":"collection","predicate":"collection"},{"peer":"01KG8AJPZRD7P3K0MVNK6STXQX","peer_type":"segment","predicate":"prev"},{"peer":"01KG8AJQNXCJSQ2FM065ZFKMG1","peer_type":"segment","predicate":"next"}],"ver":3,"created_at":"2026-01-30T20:47:40.536Z","ts":"2026-01-30T20:48:24.723Z","edited_by":{"method":"manual","user_id":"01KFF5C36SQEVDHC9CBNZZJH9K"}}