The Poet of the Confederacy
Father Abram J. Ryan was born in Virginia and ordained shortly before the war broke out, he was known as the “poet of the Confederacy.” One poem of his, Conquered Banner was written in the aftermath of the South’s defeat and was modeled on a Gregorian Chant melody, can still be recited by heart by very many Southerners. At the Confederate Museum in New Orleans, where is displayed the crown of thorns and portrait sent to President Davis by Ven. Pope Pius IX, there is also a beautiful stained-glass window that depicts Fr. Ryan.