Dies Oct 20th [1862] at Jones Springs North Carolina Annie Carter Lee daughter of Genl Lee
By Mary Bayard Devereux1 Clarke
Earth to earth & dust to dust,
Saviour in thy word we trust,
Sow the new our precious grain,
Thou shalt raise it up again,
Plant we the terrestrial root
That shall bear celestial fruit
Lay a bud within the tomb
That a flower in Heaven may bloom
Severed are no tender ties
Though in Death’s embrace she lies,
For the lengthening chain of love
Stretched to her home above”
Mother in thy bitter grief
Let this thought bring sweet relief
Thou’st Mother of an angel now
God himself hath crowned thy brow
With the thorns the Saviour wore,
Blessed art thou evermore
Unto Him thou dost resign
A portion of the life was thine
“Earth to earth & dust to dust”
Lone the trial, sweet the trust
Father thou who se’est Death
Gathering grain at every breath
As his sickle sharp he wields
Oer our bloody battle fields
Murmur not that now he weaves
This sweet flower into his sheaves
Taken in her early prime,
Gathered in the summer time
Autumn’s blasts she shall not know
Never shrink from winter’s snow
Sharp the pang that thou must feel
Sharper than the foeman’s steel
For thy fairest flower lies hid
Underneath the coffin’s lid
Oer her grave thou drop no tear
Warrior stern must thou appear
Counsling [sic] back the cruel grief
Which in tears should find relief
Louder still thy country cries
At thy feet it bleeding lies
And before the Patriot now
Husband, father, both must bow
But unencumbered are thy friends
And from many a home ascends
Earnest heartfelt prayers for thee
That as thy days, thy strength may be
Fernella
These lines were written by a Mary Clarke formerly Miss Devereaux of NC who was with us at the Springs & had known your Father in Texas
1. Mary Bayard Devereux Clarke was born in Wake County, North Carolina, on 1827 May 13. She died in New Bern, North Carolina, on 1886 March 30. She was the wife of William John Clarke (1819-1886), also a native of Wake County. Clarke rose to the rank of colonel during the Civil War as the commander of the 24th North Carolina, which served in the Army of Northern Virginia. Clarke had previously served in the Mexican War. He was captured in Virginia in early 1865 and was a prisoner of war for the remainder of the conflict.
Source: Transcribed from photocopy of original, Lee Family Papers, Mss1 L51 c 391, Section 20, Virginia Historical Society, Richmond
Transcribed by Colin Woodward, 2018 April 4
