“When the Boys Come Home”

Harper's Weekly

Lincoln’s secretary John Hay

In June 1864, Harper’s Weekly published the following poem by John Hay, one of two personal secretaries to President Abraham Lincoln. Hay, 25 at the time, remained with Lincoln until the president’s assassination in April 1865. After the war, Hay remained active in politics, serving as secretary of state under President William McKinley. He died in 1905 at age 66.

WHEN THE BOYS COME HOME.

There’s a happy time coming
When the boys come home,
There’s a glorious day coming
When the boys come home.
We will end the dreadful story
Of this treason dark and gory
In a sun-burst of glory
When the boys come home.

The day will seem brighter
When the boys come home;
For our hearts will be lighter
When the boys come home.
Wives and sweet-hearts will press them
In their arms, and caress them,
And pray God to bless them,
When the boys come home.

The thinned ranks will be proudest
When the boys come home,
And their cheer will ring the loudest
When the boys come home.
The full ranks will be shattered,
And the bright arms will be battered,
And the battle-standards tattered,
When the boys come home.

Their bayonets may be rusty
When the boys come home,
And their uniforms dusty
When the boys come home;
But all shall see the traces
Of battle’s royal graces
In the brown and bearded faces
When the boys come home.

Our love shall go to meet them
When the boys come home,
To bless them and to greet them
When the boys come home.
And the fame of their endeavor
Time and change shall not dissever
From the nation’s heart forever
When the boys come home.

John Hay.
Executive Mansion, Washington.