"The finest lesson in patriotism ever written. There surely is no boy 'with soul so dead' as to be unmoved at the story of Philip Nolan, a young army officer, who in a moment of passion cursed his country and was sentenced to 'never hear of the United States again.'"
Quotation from: The Department of Education, The City of New York Catalog of Books for Public School Library, 1904
Wikipedia: "The Man Without a Country" is a short story by American writer Edward Everett Hale, first published anonymously in The Atlantic in December 1863. It is the story of American Army lieutenant Philip Nolan, who renounces his country during a trial for treason and is consequently sentenced to spend the rest of his days at sea without so much as a word of news about the United States. Though the story is set in the early 19th century, it is an allegory about the upheaval of the American Civil War and was meant to promote the Union cause. It is also seen to be inspired by Clement Vallandingham, an anti-war pro-Confederate Ohio Democrat who - like Nolan - was exiled and expressed a disinterest in belonging to the United States.
Wikipedia contributors. "The Man Without a Country." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 11 Jul. 2012. Web. 15 Aug. 2012.