FATHER RYAN, 1839-1886
[Illustration: FATHER RYAN]
Another poet who will long be remembered for at least one poem is Abram
Joseph Ryan (1839-1886), better known as "Father Ryan." He was a Roman
Catholic priest who served as chaplain in the Confederate army, and though
longing and waiting only for death in order to go to the land that held joy
for him, he wrote and worked for his fellow-man with a gentleness and
sympathy that left regret in many hearts when he died in Louisville,
Kentucky, in 1886.
He loved the South and pitied her plight, and in his pathetic poem, _The
Conquered Banner_, voiced the woe of a heart-broken people:--
"Furl that Banner, softly, slowly!
Treat it gently--it is holy--
For it droops above the dead.
Touch it not--unfold it never--
Let it droop there, furled forever,
For its people's hopes are dead."
JOHN BANNISTER TABB, 1845-1909
[Illustration: JOHN BANNISTER TABB]
John Bannister Tabb was born in 1845 on the family estate in Amelia County,
Virginia. He was a strong adherent of the southern cause, and during the
war he served as clerk on one of the boats carrying military stores.
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