“IT WAS MY FAULT "

Those men are deemed heroes who rush on the foe

Regardless of danger, and seek not to know

What others may do;

Stern duty demands it — why should they falter

If all they hold dear is laid on the altar,

And conscience be true?

The greatest of all is the man who can say

When battle is over and foe gained the day,

“The fault was in me:

My plan miscarried through miscalculation;

On me rests the blame, and not on the nation:

My soldiers are free.”

In George Stewart White, and men of like mind,

Our nation can rest, for in them you will find

A true manliness;

Their failures acknowledged are failures no more;

Defeat to such men only opens the door

To future success.