I then told General Blair that it was certain destruction to us if we passed over the abatis upon the open ground where there had once been a corn-field; that we could never reach the base of the hill.
— from Memoirs of General William T. Sherman — Complete by William T. (William Tecumseh) Sherman

Without the town, an unprovided train Of gaping, gazing citizens are slain.
— from The Aeneid by Virgil

There had been a dispute in the Cabinet about the Corn Bill, which occasioned the discussion of it to be put off for a few days at the time, and upon that occasion Grant resigned his office.
— from The Greville Memoirs, Part 1 (of 3), Volume 1 (of 3) A Journal of the Reigns of King George IV and King William IV by Charles Greville

“I had no idea that this most interesting document existed,” he said, as he sat at his table and unfolded to our gaze a dark old parchment, whereon was a large but rather roughly drawn plan, very similar in style to those in The Closed Book.
— from The Closed Book: Concerning the Secret of the Borgias by William Le Queux

We trust that evil will finally become extinguished in the hearts of men, that mutual ill-feeling will be bitter and poignant no longer, and that, when ears of corn will be again fluttering upon the fields, mutilated by trenches and ramparts, and drenched in human blood, when wild flowers will begin to grow over the countless unknown graves, time will come, when the nations that are separated by such a tremendous gulf today, will come together again upon the one great road of humanity and will turn back once more to the great, universal words, that are common to all men.
— from New York Times Current History; The European War, Vol 2, No. 5, August, 1915 by Various

Finally, the good Bishop Huffel had the politeness to amuse us, to our great gratification, by performing fancy pieces of his own on the piano.
— from Travels Through North America, During the Years 1825 and 1826. v. 1-2 by Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Bernhard

We had a long discussion on the subject of slavery, and they took as usual the old ground of justifying the system, where it was administered with kindness and indulgence.
— from Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation: 1838-1839 by Fanny Kemble

"Just as I came out of the undertaker's shop I met the surgeon that attended upon the old gentleman at Mrs. Smith's.
— from The Mysteries of London, v. 1/4 by George W. M. (George William MacArthur) Reynolds