“Fatigues” is the plural form of fatigue, meaning not merely tiredness but the demanding work, strain, and hardships of Military life. It can include long watches, marching, manual labour, dangerous missions, and the physical and emotional wear of warfare. In older poetry, “fatigues” often emphasizes a service member’s sacrifice and endurance on behalf of the nation.

In this poem, “fatigues” does not mean Military clothing, although fatigues can also refer to a soldier’s work uniform in modern usage. The phrase “fatigues I bore” uses bore in the sense of “endured” or “carried.” Related Military terms include service, hardship, duty, toil, privation, and campaign. The word comes ultimately from a French word meaning weariness or tiring labour. In eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Military language, it could refer both to exhaustion and to laborious non-combat duties.