Lorenzo was a mere 16 when he enlisted in the Civil War Union Army. He witnessed the death of his cousin John Watson along with many others in the Battle of Shiloh. He wrote the following poem (Kenneth L Alford's book, Civil War Saints).
"At night we lay together
Near the waters of the Tennessee
When before the dawn
We woke at the alarm
Of the advancing enemy.
That day when forced from cover
Under the merciless hail of lead
Together we sank
At the river's bank
While all 'round us lay dead
"Buell is coming", he shouted
As I handed him my bruised canteen.
We took it and drank,
Returned it, and sank
Suddenly down, the dead between.
A red stream 'neath his visor
Showed why he utter no cry,
I knelt in the sand
As I grasped his hand
And 'midst the dying watched him die.
That night with a broken mess-pan
I there hollowed his grave in the sand
And at the break of day
I left him to lay
At rest in peace in that southern land."
Lorenzo was a mere 16 when he enlisted in the Civil War Union Army. He witnessed the death of his cousin John Watson along with many others in the Battle of Shiloh. He wrote the following poem (Kenneth L Alford's book, Civil War Saints).
"At night we lay together
Near the waters of the Tennessee
When before the dawn
We woke at the alarm
Of the advancing enemy.
That day when forced from cover
Under the merciless hail of lead
Together we sank
At the river's bank
While all 'round us lay dead
"Buell is coming", he shouted
As I handed him my bruised canteen.
We took it and drank,
Returned it, and sank
Suddenly down, the dead between.
A red stream 'neath his visor
Showed why he utter no cry,
I knelt in the sand
As I grasped his hand
And 'midst the dying watched him die.
That night with a broken mess-pan
I there hollowed his grave in the sand
And at the break of day
I left him to lay
At rest in peace in that southern land."
Family Members
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Melissa Vivian Watson Woodbury
1872–1962
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Alma Gertrude Watson McGregor
1874–1969
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Edgar Clare Watson
1875–1889
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Rural Pearl Watson Lyman
1877–1952
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Zola Latrande Watson Connell
1879–1923
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Talula Lu Goise Watson
1881–1884
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Millard Dow Watson
1881–1950
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Ora Laverne Watson Eatough
1882–1973
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Elizabeth Debrah "Lizzie Delilah" Watson Adams
1883–1957
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Daniel Clark Watson
1884–1965
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Bertha Pendexter Watson McGregor
1886–1971
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Iva Watson Findlay
1888–1963
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Clara Myrtle Watson Whitehead
1889–1931
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Alice Nevada Watson Driggs
1891–1976
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Loren Watson King
1894–1981
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Florian Watson Johnson
1895–1977
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LaVerd Watson Lillywhite
1896–1985
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