Soldiers Shaving

Poem inspired by the General Washington addresses about beard and cleanliness in the ranks of the Continental Army at Valley Forge, April 1778:

“Slovenliness and unsoldierly neglect in other respects ought rather to excite each man to compensate those blemishes by redoubled attention to the means which he has in his power; For instance, the soldier may always shave his beard, appear with clean hands and face & in general have an air of neatness which will be conspicuous under all disadvantages.”

https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-14-02-0402

Soldiers Shaving

On the Twelfth Day, Shaving Must Be Clear

Clean-shaven soldiers, neatness held as pride,

No whisker dared to tarnish ranks' esteem,

In Washington's command, no beards abide.

 

The frontier harsh, yet razors still applied,

Through diaries and orders, clear the theme,

Clean-shaven soldiers, neatness held as pride.

 

No stubble left for fashion to provide,

A shadowed cheek disrupts the proper scheme,

In Washington's command, no beards abide.

 

Through discipline, such blemishes denied,

A soldier's honor bound to shave supreme,

Clean-shaven soldiers, neatness held as pride.

 

With razor’s stroke, their dignity implied,

Their duty sharp, their ranks a polished dream,

In Washington's command, no beards abide.

 

To stray from this, their punishment supplied,

For slovenly neglect, provisions deem,

Clean-shaven soldiers, neatness held as pride,

In Washington's command, no beards abide.

This poem is an excerpt from my chapbook "Revolutionary Verse", a free download, or if you prefer a printed copy, buy direct, click here.