The People's vindicator. [volume] (Natchitoches, La.) 1874-1883, 1879-12-06
''THE BONNIE BLUEFLAG."
IN Interesting Account OF It's Origin.

IN Interesting Account Of It's Grig;,
- That the air and words of this stir
ring song we've composed in an hou
hy i's brilliant young author.
known 10 but few; the story OF it
origin has never been written.
Ia January. 1861, was in attep
iance rs & looker.Cn at the Mlssis
s'ppl State Convention, which pass
e! the ordinances Of secession. III tn,
latter days Of the preceding Decem
Der. South Carolina had initiated
the revolution by ''going out of tn,
Union" Mississippi was the mex
TO follow suit. When her convention
met at Jackson the first week in Jan
uary, Hon. W. s. Barry was chosen
president OF that body. which mum
bered such men as Hon. Walker
Brooke, General J. Il. George, Hon
). Il. Alcorn, Wiley T. Harris, and
others wcli-known to fame as mem
bers. l recall the deep solemnity
which characterized the proceedings
Of that splendid body Of gallant
spirits. They did not rush like mad
men, az many suppose, into the
Whirlpool OF secession-on the other
hand, the deliberations were calm.
statesmanlike, manly, and dignified,
indicating that from their sister
States they parted company more in
SORROW than in anger. Quite . num-
Der OF the members had been elected
as Union men or Co.Operationi.ts,
Instructed to counsel a waiting for
tue overt act;;" the Southern States,
meantime, to enter into q defensive
league with one another, ready to
resist the first open attack by the
Federal Government upon the pecu-
liar institution. Tue majority, how.
ever. looked upon this scheme as
utterly imprac,icable-for they ar.
sued, there will be no open trespass
upon our rights aboliIionism will
work by slow. iusidious agencies,
and, .boiOre We dream of such re.
suit, We shall be bound hand and
foot. A more dignitied, able, patri.
otto, deliberative aud earnest inves-
tigatlon OF u great question was
never, for Il number OF days, more
gravely debated. 1t was u bitter
trial to men whose fathers, like
themselves, had followed the starry
banner under a new and untried
standard; it was hard to part com.
pany with those splendid memories
which had become the best portion
OF our country's proud history; and
when, finally, just as twilight fell
over the State.house on the evening
OF January 9th, 1861, and the Pres
ldent Of the Convention, tho vote
having been announced, rose, and
slowly unfurled the little blue flag
with it, single red star in the centre,
and proclaimed that Mississippi had
dissolved the political bonds which
had connected her" with the Union
OF our fathers; strong men bowed
their heads and wept. / shall never
cease to recall this, the most solemn.
ly impressive scene / have ever wit
messed!
But have been led away by these
memories from the object OF my
sketch, the origin Of the
BONNIE BLUE FLAG"
During the last few days OF the
Convention, Harry McCarty, sup
ported by a young lady, who accom-.
panied him in his original and &c.
iected songs, was giving a variety Of
entertainments at Angeles Hall, in
that city, consisting of songs. serious
and comic, dancing, instrumental
music. &c. On the afternoon Of the
9th Of January, Judge Wiley P. Har.
ris, late Chief Justice, and one OF
the s0undest lawyers living, met the
gifted young Irishman on the street.
and remarked:
"Mac, the Convention will adopt
the ordinance Of secession sometime
this afternoon, and you will have q
large audience this evening. Per.
init me to offer a suggestion: Why
can you not compose q song peril.
nent to the occasion Give US a
patriotic SOMEONE which shall, per.
haps, be universally received as
national air -something soul.stirring
.nd paoriotic, that may become as
immortal as the ordinance ITSELF"
Young Mccarthy caught the idea
at once, retired to his room, and in
three or four hours was singing, for
the first time in public, the '''Bonnie
Blue Flag" to a house crowded to
its utmost capacity. And not once,
or twice, or thrice only, did he sing
the new song that night; but he was
c a. again and again, twelve or
fifteen times at least, until he became
hoarse from singing and the aud
fence almost exhausted from an.
plaudtng. The scene was one which.
literally, must have been seen to
have been appreciated.
The dollars Ut the daddies'' was
the currency at that time, and the
audience absolutely showed gold
and silver over the stage. I recall
one gentleman who was seated about
the centre OF the hall, near q SUP.
porting column. and who had evi.
IDENTIFY taken on g little extra patri.
0tism beforehand - whose agility,
under the excitement of the hour,
was equal to the supremest test.
Wrapping bis arms and legs about
UuO vsAAssAS uO S1luUCN w Out1k uDS
head struck the ceiling. :
The accompaniment on the piano
was we'll executed, and whilst sing.
Ing, Mccarthy prOmenaded the
Stage back and forth, waving his
flag. One verse especially. when
first delivered, came near ''bringing
down the house" literally:
so long as the Union @
Was faithful to her trust, Vs.
Like friends and like brothers,
We we're kind-we were just
But when the Northern treachery,
Attempts our rights to mar,
We'll hoist on high the Bonnie
Blue Flag, +.
That bears = single STARE 80
From that hour there was not hing
but the Bonnie Blue Flag in South.
ern air. AS the visitors to jackson
returned home-nOrth, east, south
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