author
George H. (George Henry) Miles
1824–1871
Best known in his lifetime as a poet, playwright, and man of letters, this Baltimore-born writer moved between law, literature, and teaching with unusual ease. His career left a mark on 19th-century American Catholic writing and on the stage.
1 Audiobook
The truce of God: A tale of the eleventh century
by George H. (George Henry) Miles
About the author
Born in Baltimore in 1824, George Henry Miles studied at Mount St. Mary's College in Emmitsburg, Maryland, and later trained in law before turning more fully toward literature. He built a reputation as a poet, novelist, and dramatist at a time when American literary culture was still defining itself.
Miles is especially remembered for his plays and for winning a major prize from actor Edwin Forrest for his drama Mohammed. He also taught English literature at Mount St. Mary's, linking his writing life with academic work and helping shape the college's literary culture.
His legacy is complicated by the fact that he wrote the lyrics to "God Save the South" under the pen name Earnest Halphin, a song associated with the Confederate cause during the Civil War. He died in Maryland in 1871, leaving behind a body of work that reflects both his literary ambition and the tensions of his era.