Five Acres: A Poem by George Wellman

Spring 2024

It was a spring morning at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, in in eighteen sixty-one.
The Civil War started and that summer came the battle of Bull Run.
It was one of many battles and the casualties were more than a few.
A place for burials was needed; so the Governor of the Soldiers’ Home said: “We have five acres that may be suitable for you”.
The war continued until the spring of eighteen sixty-five which made the years a total of four.
The five acres of allotted burial grounds were filled during the third year of the war with five thousand or more.
A plantation in Arlington, Virginia, was chosen for burials until victory.
That plantation is now known as Arlington National Cemetery and the rest is history.

George Wellman has been a resident of the Armed Forces Retirement Home since 2006, and a long-time friend to President Lincoln’s Cottage. The photo is one of his as well. 

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