S. H. M. Byers

thumb| Samuel Hawkins Marshall Byers (July 23, 1838 – May 24, 1933) was an American soldier and poet who wrote the poem "Sherman's March to the Sea", which was the origin of the eponymous term. Byers served in the 5th Iowa Infantry Regiment. He found success in a post-war writing career, including many poems about his native Iowa, including "The Song of Iowa", which was declared Iowa's state song in 1911. Quotes O proud was our army that morning    That stood where the pine darkly towers, When Sherman said "Boys, you are weary,    This day fair Savannah is ours." Then sang we a song for our chieftain    That echoed o'er river and lea, And the stars on our banner shone brighter    When Sherman marched down to the sea. "Song of Sherman's March to the Sea", st. 5 Lyrics reported in Hoyt's (1922). Variants: "stars in our banner" (1896) See also Sherman's March to the Sea (campaign) External links The March to the Sea: A Poem (Boston, 1896), p. 134 Hoyt's New Cyclopedia of Quotations (1922), p. 843 Category:1838 births Category:1933 deaths Category:People from Iowa Category:Poets from the United States Category:People of the American Civil War