S. H. M. Byers
S. H. M. Byers
Samuel Hawkins Marshall Byers 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 as Iowa's state song in 1911.
"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 oer river and lea, And the stars on our banner shone brighter When Sherman marched down to the sea."
