Veteran's Song, The

DESCRIPTION: The Union veteran lists all the fights he's fought, and all the wounds he's received, and notes that he consistently gave better than he got. He says "[I] will not sheathe my sword Until from Florida to Maine the Stars and Stripes shall proudly float"
AUTHOR: words: John Ross Dix
EARLIEST DATE: 1864 (broadside copyright)
KEYWORDS: Civilwar soldier injury
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
July 21, 1861 - First Battle of Bull Run
May 31-June 1, 1862 - Battle of Fair Oaks/Seven Pines
Sept. 17, 1862 - Battle of Antietam
Dec. 13, 1862 - Battle of Fredericksburg
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Brown/Belden/Hudson-FrankCBrownCollectionNCFolklore3 392, "The Veteran's Song" (1 text)
Wolf-AmericanSongSheets, #2456, p. 165, "The Veteran's Song" (2 references)
Roud #11754
BROADSIDES:
LOCSinging, amss002964, "The Veteran's Song" ("Come gather 'round the Camp-fire -- and till the break of day"), Charles Magnus (New York), 1864
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Old Virginia Low Lands" (tune, according to the broadsides)
NOTES [264 words]: This is unquestionably a composed song, and not about an actual individual. You don't take "a grapeshot in my knee" and walk again thereafter! Nonetheless, the mention of the grapeshot is in the original John Ross Dix poem.
There are other signs of confusion in the song -- e.g. there is a reference, between the mention of Fair Oaks and that of the Peninsula, to service in "Fighting Joe's Brigade" and crossing the Rapidan at Culpeper with Averell. But "Fighting Joe" Hooker never commanded a brigade in combat in the Peninsular campaign; he was already in charge of a division. And while William Woods Averell did lead a rearguard action in the Peninsula, it was during the retreat to the James. The reference to Culpeper is probably an errant reference to the Chancellorsville campaign.
The reference to General Bragg also seems out of place in the story of an Eastern soldier; Braxton Bragg spent his entire combat career in the west (although he did spend some time at a desk job in Richmond after being forced out of field command -- but that was long after any datable event in the song, and apparently after the poem was copyrighted!). Nonetheless that mention too is in the original Dix poem.
The copyright on the Library of Congress broadside is from 1864, but the last event specifically mentioned is the Battle of Fredericksburg in late 1862. I suspect it took author Dix most of a year to sell the thing. I note that he was a fairly prolific songwriter (there are five poems by him in the "Same Tune" references) -- but this is the only item to reach tradition at all. - RBW
Last updated in version 5.0
File: Br3392

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