[436] memorable Seven Days, his command suffering most at Savage Station and Malvern hill. After McClellan had left the vicinity of Richmond, the division to which Semmes was then attached (McLaws') was hurried northward to join Lee just before he entered Maryland. They crossed the Potomac while Jackson was capturing Harper's Ferry, and delayed as much as possible the advance of McClellan at Crampton's gap and South mountain. Again at Sharpsburg Semmes' brigade was engaged with the rest of McLaws' division in some of the hardest fighting of the day. At Fredericksburg the brigade of Semmes was a part of the force at Marye's hill that hurled back the hosts of Burnside with such fearful slaughter. At Chancellorsville again General Semmes led his brigade into the fierce conflict, first with Hooker, then with Sedgwick at Salem church. In the fighting of the first day at Gettysburg, General Semmes fell mortally wounded. General Lee said in his report that Semmes was leading his brigade ‘with the courage that always distinguished him,’ and that he ‘died as he had lived, discharging the highest duty of a patriot with devotion that never faltered and courage that shrank from no danger.’ He was carried back to Virginia, and among friends who administered to every want and did all that human skill could to save his life, he passed away from the sphere of earthly duties, July 10, 1863. His memory is enshrined in the hearts of his countrymen, who never fail to appreciate fidelity to duty, and knightly valor. To P. W. A., the noted war correspondent, Paul J. Semmes, in the agony of his death wound, his bright blue eyes filling with tears of exultant joy, said, ‘I consider it a privilege to die for my country.’
This text is part of:
[436] memorable Seven Days, his command suffering most at Savage Station and Malvern hill. After McClellan had left the vicinity of Richmond, the division to which Semmes was then attached (McLaws') was hurried northward to join Lee just before he entered Maryland. They crossed the Potomac while Jackson was capturing Harper's Ferry, and delayed as much as possible the advance of McClellan at Crampton's gap and South mountain. Again at Sharpsburg Semmes' brigade was engaged with the rest of McLaws' division in some of the hardest fighting of the day. At Fredericksburg the brigade of Semmes was a part of the force at Marye's hill that hurled back the hosts of Burnside with such fearful slaughter. At Chancellorsville again General Semmes led his brigade into the fierce conflict, first with Hooker, then with Sedgwick at Salem church. In the fighting of the first day at Gettysburg, General Semmes fell mortally wounded. General Lee said in his report that Semmes was leading his brigade ‘with the courage that always distinguished him,’ and that he ‘died as he had lived, discharging the highest duty of a patriot with devotion that never faltered and courage that shrank from no danger.’ He was carried back to Virginia, and among friends who administered to every want and did all that human skill could to save his life, he passed away from the sphere of earthly duties, July 10, 1863. His memory is enshrined in the hearts of his countrymen, who never fail to appreciate fidelity to duty, and knightly valor. To P. W. A., the noted war correspondent, Paul J. Semmes, in the agony of his death wound, his bright blue eyes filling with tears of exultant joy, said, ‘I consider it a privilege to die for my country.’
Atlanta, Ga. 1899.
Tufts University provided support for entering this text.
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.
An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.