Red, White, and Red, The

DESCRIPTION: The Confederate soldiers proudly boast of their new flag, "The Red, White, and Red!" They promise the guard their land, and proclaim, "They never will subdue us, that you will see. While there's Davis, Bragg, Beauregard, Johnson, and Lee...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1946 (Warner-TraditionalAmericanFolkSongsFromAnneAndFrankWarnerColl)
KEYWORDS: Civilwar patriotic bragging
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
June 10, 1861 - Battle of Big Bethel. Although trivial in size (some 6000 troops engaged, casualties totalling about 110), it was the first land battle of the war. Federal troops under Benjamin Butler ("Old Picayune," almost certainly the worst general of the war) were easily defeated by Confederates under John Bankhead Magruder
Nov. 8, 1861 - The Trent Affair (The Mason and Slidell Affair): The two Confederate diplomats are taken off the Trent by Captain Charles Wilkes of the San Jacinto in clear violation of the then-current international policy regarding neutral rights
FOUND IN: US(MA)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Warner-TraditionalAmericanFolkSongsFromAnneAndFrankWarnerColl 22, "The Red, White, and Red" (1 text, 1 tune)
Brown/Belden/Hudson-FrankCBrownCollectionNCFolklore2 223, "On the Plains of Manassas" (1 text, with a stray reference to Manassas but otherwise this song)
Brown/Belden/Hudson-FrankCBrownCollectionNCFolklore3 375, "The Red, White, and Red" (3 texts; the "A" text, with mentions of Mason and Slidell and Manassas, seems to be a later, expanded version)
Brown/Schinhan-FrankCBrownCollectionNCFolklore5 375, "Red, White, and Red" (1 tune plus a text excerpt)
ST Wa022 (Partial)
Roud #769
NOTES [358 words]: This song is item dA36 in Laws's Appendix II.
Among the figures mentioned in this song are:
Magruder - John Bankhead Magruder, winner at Big Bethel, set aside after the Peninsula campaign
Old Picayune - Benjamin F. Butler, a complete military incompetent who always kept his job because of his Republican political connections. He seems to have been given his nickname after a (female) character in a minstrel song, Picayune Butler (see "Picayune Butler, Is She Coming to Town").
Davis - Jefferson Davis, Confederate president (at this time still a provisional president)
Bragg - Braxton Bragg, at the time of Big Bethel a general commanding part of the southern coast. He later was appointed commander of the Army of Tennessee
Beauregard - P.G.T. Beauregard, who had directed the bombardment at Fort Sumter and later held field command at First Bull Run (though his later career was not overly successful)
Johnson - almost certainly an error, either for Albert Sidney Johnston (first commander of the Tennessee army, killed at Shiloh) or Joseph E. Johnston, who preceded Lee in command in northern Virginia and held a succession of later posts
Lee - Robert E. Lee (who did not achieve a significant command in the Confederate army until 1862)
Stonewall - Thomas "Stonewall": Jackson, at the time of Big Bethel commanding a small force near Harper's Ferry but destined to command a famous brigade at First Bull Run and, of course, become Lee's chief subordinate and a southern legend.
"The Mason and Slidell Affair": James Mason and John Slidell were Confederate diplomats who were bound for London and Paris, were on the British ship Trent when it was stopped by the U. S. S. San Jacinto commanded by Charles Wilkes. Wilkes took off the diplomats, prompting a furor. Washington eventually gave in to British and French pressure and sent Mason and Slidell on to their destinations.
McCulloch: Ben McCulloch, a general in the west, one of the co-commanders at Wilson's Creek, killed at Pea Ridge. Despite the song, he never gave evidence of enough competence to truly frighten the Yankees, and he never was sole commander at a major battle. - RBW
Last updated in version 5.1
File: Wa022

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