05/31/2026
On May 30, 1876, some local residents were no doubt still talking about Decoration Day ceremonies held at South Mound Cemetery. Famed poet James Whitcomb Riley, the invited guest of Henry County's own Benjamin Parker, read an original poem he wrote especially for the New Castle occasion.
Parker (left) and Riley (right), regarded by some historians as "Indiana's Poet," had "a friendship interrupted only by death," the New Castle Courier reported. Parker was 16 years older than Riley and was a mentor of sorts to the man who is known now as "Indiana's Poet."
Here is a column written by Henry County Historian Darrel Radford which includes the poem Riley read that day at South Mound Cemetery, entitled "A Different Thing To Do."
‘Deep, tender, warm and true, a nation’s heart
Throbs for the brave ones that have passed away
Who, in Grim Battle’s drama played their part,
And slumber here today.”
So began a moving military tribute written by a man who became known as “the Hoosier Poet” – James Whitcomb Riley. It was May 30, 1876, and Riley, then just 26 years old, had written the poem especially for the New Castle Decoration Day ceremony at South Mound Cemetery.
Riley and Henry County's own poet laureate, Benjamin Parker, were good friends. Parker called him “a young man of decided genius.”
The original poem, entitled “A Different Thing To Do,” underscores Memorial Day's importance , even though the words were written more than 145 years ago.
Riley’s poem puts the occasion and the ultimate sacrifice given by so many into eloquent perspective.
“When angry guns, like famished beasts of prey
Were howling for their gory feast of lives,
And sending dismal echoes far away
To mothers and to wives.
“The mother, kneeling in the empty night,’
With pleading hands uplifted for the son
Who, even as she prayed, had ‘fought the fight –
The victory had been won.
“The wife – with trembling hand that wrote to say,
The babe was waiting for the sire’s caress
The letter meeting that upon the way –
The babe was fatherless.”
“And lives that bound themselves in strongest chain
Are sundered and the broken links of love
In fragments now, must evermore remain
Until rejoined above.”
Since that Decoration Day 1876 occasion in South Mound Cemetery, many more Henry County mothers, wives, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters have experienced first-hand the emotions Riley described in his poem. Just 41 years after that event, the U.S. entered World War I, when at least 25 county residents gave their lives.
A mere 24 years after that, World War II came, and many brave Henry County residents went, with 44 soldiers never making it back home to enjoy the freedom they fought so hard to preserve.
Just 11 years later, duty called again and Henry County answered, bravely taking the fight against communism to Korea. Today, there are 22 names etched in their honor, those that paid the ultimate price in defense of their nation.
And, after another 11 years passed, young Henry Countians were faced with the horrors of war once again, this time in Vietnam. Names of 19 soldiers killed in another war so very far away are etched in gray at Memorial Park.
Then came Operation Desert Storm in 1991 and the War on Terror in 2001. Henry County paid the price and made the sacrifice in those military encounters, too, in Afghanistan and Iraq.
In his poem, Riley colors the somber hues with distinctive red, white and blue.
“O mother, you who miss the happy face
Of that dear boy who vanished from your sight
And left you weeping o’er that vacant place
He used to fill at night.
“Be glad and proud you had a life to give
Be comforted through all the years to come
Your country has a longer life to live
Your son a better home
“O, widow weeping o’er the wondering child
Who lifts his questioning eyes to only send
A keener pang of grief unreconciled
Teach him to comprehend
He had a father brave enough to stand
Before the fire of Treason’s blazing sun
That dying, he might will the rich old land
Of Freedom to his son
“And maiden – living on thro’ lonely years
In fealty to love’s enduring ties
With strong faith gleaming through the tender tears
That gather in your eyes
Look up, and down in gratefulness of prayers
Submission to the will of heaven’s high host
I see your angel soldier pacing there
Expectant at his post."
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