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In Memoriam Pennsylvania’s Sons at Andersonville

To the 1,848 of her devoted sons who died in Andersonville Prison, where they were held as prisoners of war, in the years 1864 and 1865, and who are buried here, Pennsylvania dedicates this memorial of her undying love. The faithful men whose names adorn this monument and the pages of their country’s history were loyal unto death to the flag of the Republic. Their lives are woven into the precious fabric of American Freedom. Through their sufferings they have left a legacy of strong, patient, patriotic endurance to coming generations. With gratitude to Almighty God, who gave this nation such heroic spirits in the time of trial, Pennsylvania cherishes their memory, their loyalty, their sacrifices and their grave, a priceless heritage for evermore.

Here sleep the loyal and the brave,
By kindly death from prison freed,
Who gave their precious lives to save,
The nation in its time of need.
This monument cannot disclose,
Nor can the skill of mortal make,
A record of the countless woes,
They suffered for their country’s sake.
To him, alone, who knoweth all,
Is known the anguish they endured,
Awaiting the last bugle call,
With breaking hearts while here immured.
Denied a soldier’s splendid death.
Where glory rolls her martial drum,
They tasted death at every breath,
And bravely met their martyrdom.
Enshrined in Pennsylvania’s heart,
To flag and freedom ever dear,
They are who bore the patriot’s part,
And nobly served their country here.
And while the stars their vigil keep
Across the silence of the sky,
The nation’s love for these who sleep
At Andersonville shall not die.

This monument to these soldiers, is here built by a people’s love, fretted, blazoned and decked, with the hearts they built it of; and let it here securely stand, in form, in stone, in cap, in gate, ‘till every shrine in every land, will these lives commemorate.