Lamentation and Propitious Musings
An emotional poem scribed by Eleazer Sherman (1795-1873) in the 1860s was in direct response to the American Civil War (1861-1865). Mr. Sherman originally hailed from Middleborough, Massachusetts, but was a Fall River resident for much of his life.
Poetry can be a beautiful outlet to express one’s feelings. I wonder who Mr. Sherman’s intended audience was at the time of his writing? Perhaps he hoped it would reach far and wide throughout the country, or maybe he wanted to air his hopes and frustrations out to only a few local patriots. The number of copies made, the people who were reached, and his intended audience, will remain unknown.
The stanza was printed by Almy & Milne (1845-1926) – steam job printers, and publishers of the Daily News. Almy & Milne were well known in Fall River and, according to an ad, they did “book and job printing of every description, from a mammoth poster to a miniature card.” However, the question remains, how many copies of this poem were disseminated?
While there is some foxing on the paper and a small break is beginning in the center due to its age, overall, it remains in a fine state and intact.
Below are two excerpts, one from each column:
“Our fathers swore in Union forever they would stand;
In Union they delighted throughout our happy land;
They dying words of Washington were heard by great and small,
That they should live united, and never, never fall.
…
God will free our nation, with powerful arm and strong,
From the curse and sin of Slavery, – the time will not be long;
The great and glorious trumpet of jubilee will sound,
Then all the slaves in bondage, in freedom will be found.”