Riding a Raid

DESCRIPTION: "'Tis old Stonewall, the Rebel, that leans on his sword, And while we are mounting, prays low to the Lord." The cavalrymen are told to be ready; they are "riding a raid." The singer revels in the fighting capabilities of Stuart's cavalry
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1890 (Fagan, Southern War Songs, according to Silber-SongsOfTheCivilWar); internal evidence implies a date before 1865
KEYWORDS: Civilwar battle
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
May 10, 1863 - death of Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson
May 12, 1864 - death of J. E. B. Stuart
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Silber-SongsOfTheCivilWar, pp. 82-83, "Riding a Raid" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lawrence-MusicForPatriotsPoliticiansAndPresidents, p. 404, "Riding a Raid" (1 text plus a copy of the sheet music cover)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Bonnie Dundee (I)" (tune)
NOTES [116 words]: It is generally said (e.g. by Silber) that this is about the cavalry of James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart, the commander of the cavalry in Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. There isn't much evidence that it became traditional, but it was well enough known that Clifford Dowdey, Death of a Nation: The Confederate Army at Gettysburg, 1958 (I use the 1998 Barnes & Noble reprint), p. 65, cites it about one of Stuart's less successful attempts to show off.
The description of Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson praying is certainly accurate; the man was a religious fanatic -- so much so that I personally think he was mentally disordered. But disordered in a very useful way in military terms. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.2
File: SCWF082

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