The herald., 1898-04-29
Confederacy Short on Songs

Soon the landaldy brought in a note from
the Confederates. asking permission to
come over and hear the singing. OF course
it was granted, and they were delighted
with the songs. Excuse me, gentlemen"
said the Confederate officer in charge, "but
we would like to hear some of your war
songs" The Union officers then gave
them with an unction THE Battle Cry of
Freedom" the Battle Hymn of the Re-
public" and on through the list to the Star
Spangled Banner" the Confederates keep
Ing time, as If they had always marched to
the music of the Union. When the ap-
plause from the gray uniformed veterans
had subsided a Confederate major said:
Gentlemen, if we'd had your songs we'd
have whipped you out of your boots. Who
wouldn't march and fight with such songs?
We had nothing except bastard Mar
seillaise,' The Bonnie Blue Flag and
Dixie all jigs and nothing more" Turn
ing to the Confederate general he said: Il
shall never forget the first time l heard
Rally Round the Flag 1t was on nasty
night during the seven days battle of the
Wilderness. 1t was on picket. when just
before taps some fellow on the other side
struck up that song; soon others Joined in
the chorus till 1t seemed the whole Yankee
army was singing. One of our men sang
out, Good heavens! What are those fellows
made of? Here we've licked them six days
running and on the seventh they're singing
Rally Round the Flag! am not supersti-
tious, but tell you that song sounded like
the knell of doom, and my heart went down
into my boots"
When the singing was over the Confed-
crate general shook hands with his enter
tainers and said: "Weli, the time may come
when we can all sing The Star Spangled
Banner together"
1t has come, and the blue and the gray
can march shoulder to shoulder to the
music of that famous song.
How "Dixie" Was Written
Comparatively few people know the or
igin of Dixie" many thinking that it was
written in the south as a southern war
song This is mistake. 1t was composed,
words and music back in the early sos by
Dan D. Emmett the actor, as walk
around" for Bryants minstrels. Emmett
had travelled in the south with a circus
and had heard the performers speak of
the country south of the Mason and Dix
on's line as Dixie land" During the
autumn, when tenting was getting little
too cool, he had often heard them wish
they were in Dixie land, and that is the
way the song got its name.
"My Maryland's" Birth
1.-THE Bonny Blue Flag" was composed
by an Irish comedian named Harry Nc
Carthy, and sung for the first time by his
sister, Miss Marian Mccarthy, in New
Orleans theater. 1t is said that Ben But
Ter. when in command of the city, issued
an order fning every one $25 that sang the
song: that he had the publisher arrested
and fined $500. and destroyed all the sheet
music
my Maryland" was one of the most
beautiful war poems of the south, but 1t
could never be set to catchy music. 1t
was written by James r. Randall, ma
tive of Baltimore. He was professor of
English literature in Poydras college,
Louisiana, in 1861, when he read of the
march of the Massachusetts troops
through his native city. After he retired
that night, the subject preyed upon his
mind till he was compelled to get up. He
lit q candle and wrote my Maryland"
Julia Ward Howe's Battle Hymn of
the Republic" probably the most popular
song ever written by woman, was COM
posed under similar circumstances. 1t was
in 1861, just after the battle of Bull Run.
She was in Washington and had been with
some friends to witness a review OF the
army. That night after she had gone to