about two o'clock
When told by some that he must steal from his fellow sufferers , as many did , in order to relieve the pangs of hunger , he answered , `` No , I was not brought up to that ! '' And so when his weakened system would no longer receive the cobmeal which was his principal allowance , he set his face calmly towards death . He grew gradually weaker and weaker and fainter and fainter , and at last disease of the lungs set in , and it became apparent that the end was at hand . On Christmas Day , while thousands among us were bowing in our garlanded churches or surrounding festive tables , this young martyr lay on the cold , damp ground , watched over by his destitute friends , who sought to soothe his last hours with such scanty comforts as their utter poverty afforded , -- raising his head on the block of wood which was his only pillow , and moistening his brow and lips with water , while his life ebbed slowly away , until about two o'clock , when he suddenly roused himself , stretched out his hand , and , drawing to him his dearest friend among those around him , said , in a strong , clear voice : -- `` I am going to die . Go tell my father I am ready to die , for I die for God and my country , '' -- and , looking up with a triumphant smile , he passed to the reward of the faithful . And now , men and brethren , if this story were a single one , it were worthy to be had in remembrance ; but Walter Raymond is not the only noble-hearted boy or man that has been slowly tortured and starved and done to death , by the fiendish policy of Jefferson Davis and Robert Edmund Lee . No , -- wherever this simple history shall be read , there will arise hundreds of men and women who will testify , `` Just so died my son ! ''