Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman was an American Negro abolitionist. She was born into slavery on a Maryland plantation, the daughter of Benjamin Ross and Harriet Greene, and was originally called Araminta but later changed her name to Harriet. At an early age she was put to work as a field hand and in 1844 was forced by her owner to marry a fellow slave, John Tubman. In 1849 she escaped to the North, and later devoted herself to leading other slaves to freedom through the Underground Railroad. She undertook the most hazardous missions, and employed stern measures against frightened fugitives who wanted to give up the fight and return to bondage. Quaker sympathizers helped her on her dangerous journeys to the South to collect new groups of fugitives and John Brown was one of her friends. In 1857, she rescued her own parents, setting them up in a house in Auburn, N.Y. All in all, she is credited with helping over 300 slaves to win freedom. Between trips she worked as a cook, spoke in Boston at antislavery meetings, and supplied material to the National Anti-slavery Standard in New York City. She had received no education as a child and never learned to read or write.

When the Civil War began, Harriet Tubman was attached to the Union Army in South Carolina, serving as a cook, nurse, scout for raiding parties, and spy behind Confederate lines. After the war she settled in Auburn and continued to work for the Negro freedmen. Her heroic story was first told by Sarah Hopkins Bradford in Scenes in the Life of Harriet Tubman (1869), published for Harriet Tubman's benefit and later revised as Harriet the Moses of Her People (1886). After her death the citizens of Auburn raised a monument in her memory and continued for some years to maintain the Harriet Tubman Home for the many Negroes, which she had founded.

By: Laura Black

8-1

Shiloh

By:Charles Allen

This poem is about the bloody, tragic, and beneficial battle of Shiloh.

Many years have passed since Shiloh Day.

Who are left of that gallant throng?

Not many and their locks are gray.

Their memories are almost gone.

That Sunday morn by the river side,

Grant rode from his boat up the hill,

And ordered troopers from our ranks to ride,

While the roar of cannon shot and shell.

At noon the battle seemed sore against us,

Our troops were falling back slow then-

Many brave boys had fallen we knew,

Our leader's face was grim, Oh! Where was

Wallace's men.

Oh! Where was lit. Wallace and his men now?

While Shilohs guns flashed and roared,

The sun was going down. Yes! 'Twas low.

The hills with dead and wounded covered o'er.

The troopers who went after him

Will never forget that Sunday's ride.

While they heard that awful din.

To hasten Wallace was Grant's word.

And hasten him with his brigade,

It was a call that Patriots heard,

Which could not long be delayed.

And well those men responded to the call.

Although the Sun shone with heat,

Many of them would stagger and fall,

But would rise again to their feet.

At last his weary men came on,

And in battle line laid down,

They were ready at break of Morn,

And then the Charge was on.

Hark! Hear his charging column yell,

Wallace, Wallace, for Wallace make way!

Many a brave boy that fell,

Many a brave lad died that day.

That day they fought long and well,

Their names are honored by all men,

For many for their country fell,

They are remembered by their country's men.

On Shiloh hills the trees are green,

'Tis Sunday a day of peaceful rest,

No camp of Warriors are seen,

A row of White Marble Columns on the Crest.

The birds are singing to day,

Where wounded and dying men

Once laid and breathed their life away,

A quiet peace with music now and then.

In stanzas one through ten of the poem it is basically just describing what the battle was like. The people still living who fought in the battle of Shiloh are very old and have lost most of their memories. The Sunday morning that the battle started, General Grant came out of his boat and rode up the hill. He ordered his troops to ride while all around the guns were firing. At noon the Union seemed to be losing the battle and they were lost many troops to gunshot wounds. Grant sent for General Wallace because they needed reinforcements. Then, Grant sent his troops to get Wallace and his men. Wallace's men responded quickly even though the day was hot, many of them were wounded, but got up again to fight. The next morning Wallace's men were prepared for battle. Finally, Wallace came and helped the Union to win the battle. Everyone remembers the men who died in the battle that day, for they died for their country.

The last part of the poem describes what Shiloh is like now, after the battle. The trees on Shiloh hill are green and peaceful; there are no soldiers in sight. Only rows of white columns mark where they once fought. Today the birds are signing, where the hurt and dying men once lay, a peaceful time before the battle and after.

The poet Charles R. Allen used imagery as one of the poetic devices in his poem. An example of imagery in this poem is "while the roar of cannon shot and shell." You can almost hear the gunfire and explosions in the distance.

Also, "On Shiloh hills the trees are green/ 'Tis Sunday a day of peaceful rest/ No camp of warriors seen/ A row of white marble columns on the Crest". You can envision what is described here; the green trees, the empty battlegrounds and the most of all the white memorial stones that mark the soldiers final resting place.

This was an excellent poem. I especially like the last two stanzas. Most people would say that the battle of Shiloh was bloody and tragic, but Charles R. Allen described it as peaceful and "A quiet peace with music".

By: Laura Black

8-1

• Ms. Patterson
• Mr. Peterson
• Mrs. Joldersma
• Mrs. Diorio