Vermont
To the Vermonters who Perished at Andersonville

You are the sires of generations which are and which never will be
Oh beloved of widows and spinsters
Oh, unbearable loss of mothers and sisters
and brothers and fathers and orphans

Yours is the vacant chair, the lonely bed
the rusted tool, the shallow grave
your laughter fallen silent
your footfalls mere echoes of memories

Your eyes once bright
dimmed, sunken, closed
You in the fullness of manhood
enfeebled, broken, dust

This unholy ground you hallowed
with your prayers, your tears, your blood
Your earthly remains cradled in this sanguineous soil
testify to the fulfillment of your duty

Your spirits which long ago mingled with those of the celestial hosts
are felt among us here in the quiet of this sacred place
and though the earth enfolds your bodies and the heavens your spirits
your honored memories shall reside within the hearts of your heirs forever

Erected in the year 1998 by The Champlain Rifles and 6471 Manchester Vermont