It seems like Almost Yesterday that Father Abraham Joseph Ryan was well-known as ‘the Poet Laureate of the Confederacy.’ A controversial individual, Father Ryan was born in Hagerstown, Maryland in 1838 to Irish immigrant parents. Now more than a century since his death, Father Ryan is the subject of books, articles, and dissertations. His poetry continues to be read on the floor of state legislatures and he is frequently quoted in political debate. High schools have been named for him, statues