Photo "Virginia Winter: Mountain Snow and Fallow Field"

 

Photos taken by Mark R. Day on 27 December 2012, of the Peaks of Otter and Blue Ridge Mountains in Bedford, VA.,  using a Canon Power Shot SX100IS.

Copyright by Mark R. Day, December 27, 2012, all rights reserved

Christmas Message to the Second Military District SVR

Headquarters Second Military District 104 Mullbury Place Lynchburg, Virginia 24502

Families and Friends  of the Second Military District,

     This morning, as I sat down to write you, my mind was stirred with the many thoughts, which flow so freely at this joyous time of year, and I was reminded that so many of the most common traditions, now practiced in America, developed during the years of the Civil War.  Our ancestors have left us so much more than just the memory of war and sacrifice; for we are also the inheritors of such rich traditions as the Christmas Tree , Christmas Spirit, and yes even Santa himself.  In the darkness of war and destruction soldiers both north and south found a moment to spread forth a light, which pressed back the darkness and revealed the humanity of all mankind.  Alfred, Lord Tennyson, England's poet laureate once wrote:

The larger heart, the kinder hand; Ring out the darkness in the land.

I believe that in the midst of darkness our ancestors took it upon themselves to put words such Tennyson's into action and in many small and private ways provided light to a world wrapped in the darkness of war and strife.

     Today the world still contains many a dark place and as we go out into our communities, I pray that we will emulate the spirit of those men and women who struggled in the darkness of 1861-1865.  When you hear the gentle peal of Christmas bells ringing softy in the dark, remember the voices that rise to sing the hymns in vacant stillness on the distant fields of war and picture the family gathered round the hearth with a chair left empty for the missing son. Be a light in the world for light is needed today just as it was in the past.

     I leave you with the words of a true Christmas Carol of hope, written in 1864 by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:

 

"I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!


And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!


Till, ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!


Then from each black accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!


It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to me

And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
"For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"


Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead; nor doth he sleep!
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!"

 

May each of your Christmas celebrations be filled with peace and joy.  Merry Christmas and Happy New year

Mark R. Day, Major

Commander 2nd Military District

 

 

 

Speech: Brief Remarks upon the Rededication of the Irish Brigade Monument at City Dock in Fredericksburg, VA

Good Morning

Today, I stand here as the representative of the Department of the Chesapeake, Sons of veterans of the Civil War and as an American of Irish Heritage.  The Irish Brigade, whom we honor today,  was a continuation of a proud tradition of  Irish manhood's service in the pursuit of justice and freedom.  On this blood soaked field of combat these  Irish ex-patriots, who so recently had sojourned to the shores of America, followed in the footsteps of those Irish country lads know as the "Wild Geese" who fought on the great battlefields of Europe, such as Fontenoy and Culloden, in hope that victory would lead to Irish Independence.  These men knew the oppression of tyranny and saw in the United States a new hope, which was worth risking death to preserve, and so with their green banner proudly unfurled leading the way, they crossed the Rappahannock and marched into immortality upon the ground of Marye's Heights.

In 1792, the man who would later become King Louis XVIII acknowledged the loyalty of his Irish soldiers by presenting them a flag upon which was emblazoned the words "Semper et ubique Fidelis" [Always and everywhere faithful].  Today we can add our tribute to America's heroic sons of Erin by adding our pledge of fealty so beautifully stated in the inscription on this monument, which reads:  "To the Sons of Erin, who put God, Country, and Duty before self, we must never forget the sacrifices they made for our freedom.  Erin Go Braugh!"

May God bless the souls of these; our  honored dead.