course of the war. A massive Missouri
monument stands where two opposing
Missouri regiments clashed in battle.
Admirably, it is the only monument in
the park honoring troops of both sides.
What a sad, sad affair, the Civil
War, when countrymen obliterated
each other with everything from cavalry sabers and bow knives to muskets and grenades. This hauntingly
beautiful park is a living reminder
of war’s horrific cost. A stanza from a
poem written by Francis Miles Finch
perhaps says it best.
THE BLUE AND THE GRAY
No more shall the war cry sever,
Or the winding rivers be red;
They banish our anger forever,
When they laurel the graves of our dead!
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment day,
Love and tears for the Blue,
Tears and love for the Gray.
Massachusetts
State Memorial
