Marching Song of the First Arkansas

DESCRIPTION: "Oh, we're the bully soldiers of the 'First of Arkansas,' We're fighting for the Union, we are fighting for the law, We can hit a Rebel further than a white man ever saw..." The soldiers tell how they will show their prowess by defeating the Rebels
AUTHOR: Words: Capt. Lindley Miller?
EARLIEST DATE: 1960 (Silber-SongsOfTheCivilWar); a nineteenth century broadside is listed on p. 147 of Edwin Wolf 2nd, _American Song Sheets, Slip Ballads, and Political Broadsides 1850-1870_, Library Company of Philadelphia, 1963
KEYWORDS: Civilwar battle Black(s) slavery freedom soldier derivative
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Jan 1, 1863 - Effectiveness date of the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed all slaves in the portions of the U.S. not then in Federal hands
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Silber-SongsOfTheCivilWar, p. 26, "Marching Song of the First Arkansas (Negro) Regiment" (1 text, tune referenced)
Silber-SoldierSongsAndHomeFrontBalladsOfCivilWar, p. 38, "Marching Song of the First Arkansas (Negro) Regiment" (1 text, tune referenced)
Colonial-Dames-AmericanWarSongs, pp. 110-111, "Song of the First Arkansas Regiment" (1 text)
Wolf-AmericanSongSheets, #2194, p. 147, "Song of the First of Arkansas" (1 reference)
DT, MARARKAN*
RECORDINGS:
Pete Seeger, "Marching Song of the First Arkansas" (on PeteSeeger28)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "John Brown's Body" (tune & meter) and references there
NOTES [205 words]: The Union first began enlisting Black troops (informally) in 1862. By the end of that year, four regiments were raised, only to have Lincoln shut them down. After the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation, however, Lincoln allowed the formation of (segregated) "colored" regiments.
In the end, over a hundred and fifty such regiments were raised. Their performance was mixed -- but this was probably the fault of the (white) officers rather than the Black troops. A large fraction of the officers in the "Colored" regiments were soldiers who had given up on promotion in the white army, and shifted to the "Colored" troops to get ahead. For more on this, see the notes to "Give Us a Flag."
Although originally recruited as the First Arkansas, the regiment came to be known as the "46th United States Colored Infantry." Its service was not particularly distinguished, except for the indignities inflicted on the troops when they were captured by Confederate forces.
At least one edition of this, according to Edwin Wolf 2nd, American Song Sheets, Slip Ballads, and Political Broadsides 1850-1870, Library Company of Philadelphia, 1963, p. 147, was published by "the Supervisory Committee for Recruiting Colored Regiments." - RBW
Last updated in version 6.3
File: SCW38

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