Bivouac of the Dead
Overview
 
The Bivouac of the Dead is a poem written by Theodore O'Hara
Theodore O'Hara
Theodore O'Hara was a poet and an officer for the United States Army in the Mexican-American War, and a Confederate colonel in the American Civil War...

 to honor his fellow soldiers from Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

 who died in the Mexican-American War. The poem increased its popularity after the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, and its verses have been featured on many memorials to fallen Confederate
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

 soldiers in the Southern United States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...

, and are even to be found on many memorials in Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...

, including Arlington's gateway.

When war against Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 was declared in May 1846, O'Hara left Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 to return to his native Kentucky in order to enlist.
Quotations

"Assassination is the extreme form of censorship."

George Bernard Shaw|George Bernard Shaw, s:The Shewing-up of Blanco Posnet/PrefaceThe limits to toleration|"The limits to Tolerance", in preface of s:The Shewing-up of Blanco Posnet|The Shewing-up of Blanco Posnet

"Censorship ends in logical completeness when nobody is allowed to read any books except the books that nobody reads."

George Bernard Shaw|George Bernard Shaw

"All censorships exist to prevent anyone from challenging current conceptions and existing institutions. All progress is initiated by challenging current conceptions, and executed by supplanting existing institutions. Consequently the first condition of progress is the removal of censorship."

George Bernard Shaw|George Bernard Shaw, Preface to Mrs. Warren's Profession

"Censorship reflects a society's lack of confidence in itself."

Potter Stewart|Potter Stewart

"The Internet treats censorship as a defect and routes around it."

John Gilmore|John Gilmore

"If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all."

Noam Chomsky|Noam Chomsky

"Don't join the book burners. Don't think you are going to conceal thoughts by concealing evidence that they ever existed."

Dwight D. Eisenhower|Dwight D. Eisenhower, Speech at Dartmouth College|Dartmouth College (14 June 1953)

 
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