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TAPS
Fading light dims the sight,
And a star gems the sky,
Gleaming bright.
From afar drawing nigh,
Falls the night.
Day is done, gone the sun,
From the lake, From the hills,
From the sky.
All is well, safely rest,
God is nigh.
Then good night, Peaceful night,
Till the light of the dawn
Shineth bright,
God is near, do not fear,
Friend, good night. |
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BORN:
November 01, 1827 at Hollis, ME
Entered Service in the US
Army from Eastport, ME
Earned
The Medal of Honor During the Civil War For heroism on June
24, 1864 at St. Mary's Church, VA
DIED: July
17, 1902 at the age of 74
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The battle
around Saint Mary's Church, Virginia on June 24, 1864, brought
the Second Brigade of the Second Division of General Sherman's
Cavalry into a deadly struggle with superior numbers of Wade
Hampton's Confederate cavalry. After skirmishing all morning,
late in the afternoon Colonel Charles Smith's 1st Maine Cavalry
was attacked, and until night fell the Union soldiers under
their fearless commander, resisted every attack. At the head of
his regiment, Colonel smith was wounded in the thigh but
continued to lead his men, even after his horse was shot out
from under him. Mounting a second horse, he continued to charge
the enemy until that horse too, fell to enemy bullets. A third
horse was secured and in the retreat, after two hours of the
fiercest cavalry fighting, Colonel Smith, although wounded yet
again, remained with his men, fighting the pursuing enemy until
darkness ended what had been a unequal struggle throughout the
day.
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