The Soldier’s Dream of Home

The Soldier’s Dream of Home (1861-65) was a Currier & Ives American Civil War print showing a Union soldier with a letter from home by his side, dreaming of being reunited with his family. The four corners around the central oval are filled with U.S. heraldic shields against a star-spangled background. This poem is written below the print.

Stretched on the ground the war-worn soldier sleeps,
Beside the lurid watch fire’s fitful glare;

And dreams that on the field of fame he reaps
Renown and honors which he hastes to share

With those beloved ones who gathering come,
To bid their hero husband father “wellcome home.”

Fond dreamer, may thy blissful vision be
A true foreshadowing of the fates to thee.