Noble Lads of Canada

DESCRIPTION: "Come all ye British heroes, I pray you lend your ears." The singer urges his comrades to defeat the Americans. They make for Plattsburg. The American fleet defeats the British. The British retreat and celebrate arriving home safely.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: c. 1847 (Forget-Me-Not-Songster); 1856 (Thompson-APioneerSongster)
KEYWORDS: war battle soldier drink
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Aug/Sept 1814 - Plattsburg campaign. As part of a three-pronged attack strategy (the other prongs being at Chesapeake Bay and the lower Mississippi), a British army of 11,000 regulars led by General Sir George Prevost and a naval force under Captain George Downie attack Lake Champlain.
Sept 6, 1814 - The British army reaches Plattsburg and awaits the navy
Sept 11, 1814 - Battle of Plattsburg. An American naval squadron under Captain Thomas Macdonough (1783-1825) defeats the British force in a fierce contest with very high casualties, compelling the British fleet to retreat in disorder. The British army, though under no military compulsion, retreats as well.
FOUND IN: US(MA)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Thompson-APioneerSongster 53, "Noble Lads of Canada" (1 text)
Thompson-BodyBootsAndBritches-NewYorkStateFolktales, pp. 349-351, "Noble Lads of Canada" (1 text)
Cohen-AmericanFolkSongsARegionalEncyclopedia1, pp. 100-102, "Noble Lads of Canada" (1 text plus a broadside print)
Forget-Me-Not-Songster, pp. 213-217, "Noble Lads of Canada" (1 text)
Roud #2827
BROADSIDES:
LOCSinging, as109710, "Noble Lads of Canada" ("Come, all you British heroes, I pray you lend an ear"), L. Deming (Boston), no date; also as109720, as101420, "Noble Lads of Canada"
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Siege of Plattsburg" (subject)
NOTES [41 words]: Although claiming to be by a British soldier, this is a patently American song celebrating an American victory. The known versions seem all to be American. For background on the Plattsburg campaign, see the notes to "The Siege of Plattsburg." - RBW
Last updated in version 6.0
File: CAFS1100

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