The sun was sinking in the west

A soldier, dying (during the US Civil War?), expresses concern for his orphaned sister, who will now be all alone. His comrades promise to look after her. He dies contented and they bury him "With his knapsack for a pillow and his rifle on his breast", "far from his . . . New England home".Mercer 115; Laws NAB, A14; Leach, 1965: 146 (The Dying Soldier)