About Henry Timrod
Henry Timrod (born December 8, 1828, in Charleston, South Carolina — died October 7, 1867, in Columbia, South Carolina) was an American poet and journalist, also known as the Confederate Poet Laureate. He is especially known for his poems written during the American Civil War, in which he glorified the rebellious Southern states. Timrod studied at the University of Georgia but, due to illness at the end of his studies, returned to Charleston. He settled there as a lawyer and planned to begin practicing law.From 1848 to 1853, he submitted several poems to The Southern Literary Messenger under the pseudonym Aglaus, attracting attention for his literary talent. Encouraged by this success, he left the legal profession to pursue writing and teaching. With the outbreak of the American Civil War, Timrod returned to Charleston, publishing his best-known poems, which inspired many young men to enlist in the Confederacy. Among his finest poems from this period are “Ethnogenesis,” “A Cry to Arms,” “Carolina,” and “Katie.” He was a frequent contributor to Russell's Magazine and The Southern Literary Messenger.
Today, Timrod's poetry is included in most historical anthologies of American poetry and is considered a significant (though secondary) contribution to 19th-century American literature.
Browse all poems and texts published on Henry Timrod
Each has its lesson; for our dreams in sooth, come they in shape of demons, gods, or elves, are allegories with deep hearts of truth that tell us solemn secrets of ourselves.
