Henry Timrod

Henry Timrod was an American poet, often called the poet laureate of the Confederacy.

Timrod was born on December 8, 1829, in Charleston, South Carolina, to a family of German descent. His grandfather Heinrich Dimroth emigrated to the United States in 1765 and anglicized his name. His father, William Henry Timrod, was an officer in the Seminole Wars and a poet himself. In fact, he composed the following poem on the subject of his eldest son, Henry:

Harry, my little blue-eyed boy,
I love to have thee playing near;
There's music in thy shouts of joy,
To a fond father's ear.

I love to see the lines of mirth
Mantle thy cheeks and forehead fair,
As if all the pleasures of the earth
Had met to revel there.

For gazing on thee do I sigh
That those most happy years must flee;
And thy full share of misery
Must fall in life on thee.