Between
the years 1802 and 1804, William Wordsworth, the famous English Romantic poet, penned
one of his greatest poems, "Ode: Intimations of Immortality." I don’t
remember the first time I heard it, but I do know it was familiar to me when my
seventh grade English class studied it over the course of several weeks.
The
first part of the second movement was then, and still is, my favorite part of
the poem. Over the years, it fed my imagination in a thousand different ways as
I scrutinized each line. And I loved the experience of allowing my imagination
free reign. For those unfamiliar with this particular portion, it reads:
Our birth is but a sleep and a
forgetting:
The Soul that rises with us, our
life's Star,
Hath had elsewhere its setting,
And cometh from afar:
Not in entire forgetfulness,
And not in utter nakedness,
But trailing clouds of glory do we
come
From God, who is our home:
Heaven lies about us in our infancy!
Therefore,
it should come as no surprise to those who read “Spirit of the Rebellion” and
“Spirit of the Revolution,” that these nine lines are the influence behind the handsome
heroes of my stories. For within their “life’s star,” Captain Tristan Jordahl
and Mathias McGregor, respectively, have come from their heavenly abode with
clouds of glory, trailing in their wake.
During
the Civil War, Captain Tristan Jordahl, hero of “Spirit of the Rebellion,”
belonged to the famed Wisconsin Fifteenth Regiment. The majority of this
regiment boasted men of Norwegian descent. As one of them, Tristan served
nobly, honorably and courageously.
In
speaking of the Wisconsin 15th, the
Annals of the Army of the Cumberland
“They
are amongst the best and the bravest of our soldiers. Descendants of the sturdy
Vikings of medieval times, they have in the long lapse of years lost none of
that daring valor, power of endurance, and remarkable coolness in times of
excitement, which characterized their ancestors. Next to bravery, their most
marked quality is calmness. Always cool and collected, they act with the same
deliberation and forethought in the trying hours of danger as in the
transactions of every-day life. Temperate and virtuous, obedient and well
disciplined, they are in every respect model soldiers, and challenge the
admiration and respect of all whose good fortune it is to mingle with
them."
In “Spiritof the Revolution,” Mathias McGregor, is a man of equal courage and valor,
having served during the American Revolution with Colonel Daniel Morgan’s
renowned band of Rangers—and—as a spy for Major John Clark. In regards to the
rangers, the British general, William Howe, once stated that these men were the
most dangerous regiment in the American army.
Yes
indeed, these very exceptional men are very easy to fall in love with, even if
they are ghosts...
And don’t worry... I make sure all of my endings have a “Happily Ever After...”
Can hardly wait to see Mathias McGregor in print...Oh ya!!!!!
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