These lines by Prentice were found in the pocket of
General James J. Pettigrew after being mortally
wounded on July 17, 1863.
 

A Name In The Sand

Alone I walked the ocean strand,
A pearly shell was in my hand;
I stopped and wrote upon the sand
My name, the year, the day;
As onward from the spot I passed,
One lingering look behind I cast, --
A wave came rolling high and fast
And washed my lines away.

And so, methought, 'twill quickly be
With every mark on earth from me:
A wave of dark oblivion's sea
Will sweep across the place
Where I have trod the sandy shore
Oftime, and been, to be no more,
Of me, my day, the name I bore,
To leave no track or trace.

And yet, with Him who counts the sands,
And holds the waters in His hands
I know a lasting record stands,
Inscribed against my name.

Of all this mortal part has wrought,
Of all this thinking soul has thought,
And from these fleeting moments caught,
For glory or for shame.
 
 

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