Meditation: It's Never Too Late To Honor Sacrifice

I thought I had prepared my Sunday meditation post on the history and meaning of the Battle Hymn of the Republic until I opened Bill Schaaf's post at Gathering of Eagles, "Civil War Soldier, The Untold Story Behind The Mission. There I found an account of an American soldier who had a contemporary understanding of that great Civil War hymn. Schaaf's post definitely is worth reading, and the links to photographs and videos are very revealing.

The soldier, now "known but to God," was an early Union volunteer from the state of New York who gave his last full measure at the Battle of Antietam, at which 23,000 soldiers were killed, wounded, or went missing in twelve hours of combat on September 17, 1862.

His body lay in an shallow grave for more than 146 years until his remains were discovered last October and brought home in September with full military honors, escorted on the journey from the Antietam Battlefield to Saratoga National Cemetery by Mr. Schaaf and his fellow Patriot Guard Riders. An excellent video report is available here.

We owe thanks to Bill Schaaf and to the many patriots who went to great effort to honor the sacrifice of this unknown soldier. They are doing their part to keep firm the bond of resolve that unites the spirits all American patriots, living and dead.
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