John A. Walsh

As Wesley Culp's spirit ascends from his earthly being, he ruefully tries to communicate with his mother - not at all at peace with his sudden departure from the human race.  "Gone to the Ages" depicts this supplication, which undoubtedly has occurred in the minds and spirits of soldiers in the final throes of life throughout history...millions of times.
The title of the song (which is the lyric of the refrain) is taken from U.S. Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton's famous utterance upon the passing of Abraham Lincoln, "Now, he belongs to the ages..."
Justin Arthur masterfully evokes the raw sorrow and regret required to convey the emotion of the lyric.  His tortured delivery throughout - especially during the bridge of the song - is chilling.  War deprives a country of its youth.  In the case of the American Civil War, that deprivation was two-fold.  "Gone to the Ages" is a contemplation of this particular tragedy of war.