In the spring of 1864, following a series of inconclusive battles between the armies of the North and the South around Richmond, Virginia, details were dispatched to bury the dead. Before placing one unidentified Confederate soldier in his grave, a member of the burial detail went through his pockets, as was the custom, and found a sheet of paper on which was written this prayer:
I asked God for strength, that I might achieve. I was made weak, that I might learn humbly how to obey. I asked for health, that I might do greater things. I was given infirmity, that I might do better things. I asked for riches, that I might be happy. I was given poverty, that I might be wise. I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men. I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God. I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life. I was given life, that I might enjoy all things. I got nothing that I asked for—but everything I had hoped for. Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered. I am, among all men, most richly blessed.
