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BONNIE BLUE FLAG
American, March and Song Air (6/8 time); Alabama, Pa. Lyrics by Harry McCarthy (d. 1880) CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes DATE: 1861
RECORDING INFO: Homestead Records 103, Hoyt Ming and His Pep Steppers - "New Hot Times!" Nye, Hermes. Life Treasury of American Folk Music, Time L 1001, LP (1961), cut#B.03; Rucker, Sparky and Ronda. Blue and Gray in Black and White, Flying Fish FF 70611, CD (1992), cut# 3a OTHER NAMES: “Irish Jaunting Car,” "Whistle On Your Way." See also the cognate tune "Coleman's March"
SOURCES: George Fisher (Somerset County, Pa., 1962) [Bayard]. Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), 1981; No. 547, pg. 489. Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 3; No. 292, pg. 32. Sweet (Fifer's Delight), 1964; pg. 28. Traditional Music in America, Folklore Associates, Bk (1940/1965), p462; Kuntz, Fiddler's Companion, http://www.ceolas.org/tunes/fc).
NOTES: "G Major. Standard. AB (Bayard): AABB (Kerr, Sweet). A popular Southern Civil War composed song and show tune that quickly became the national anthem of the Confederacy and later entered fiddle and dance folk repertory (especially through discharged soldiers). Besides being an anthem, it was also used as a march air in the Confederacy and, after the war, in other areas of the country (such as southwestern Pennsylvania for one) in martial (i.e. fife and drum) repertory. Samuel Bayard (1981) states it was a favorite in that region of Pennsylvania, although its Southern origins were not always known. Some editors, such as Sigmund Spaeth in History of Popular Music in America, have claimed this tune is derived from a 6/8 time Irish air "The Irish Jaunting Car," although that ditty is also sung to other melodies. Others do not see the connection, and Paul Wells, for one, seems to think a more likely candidate for origins of "Bonny Blue Flag" is the Irish tune "Wearin' o' the Green." It was the repertory of northwest Alabama fiddler D. Dix Hollis, as listed in the Opelika Daily News of 4/17/26. The chorus refers to the official flag of the Confederacy." (Kuntz, Fiddler's Companion, http://www.ceolas.org/tunes/fc).
HISTORY: In 1763, the Seven Years War in North America, better known to modern Americans as the French and Indian War, came to an end. One result of this conflict was the ceding by France of the portion of Louisiana west of the Mississippi River to Spain. The territory east of the Mississippi was yielded to England and included the southern part of Mississippi and Alabama. It was renamed "West Florida."
Few Americans today are aware of the fact that, during the American Revolution, Spain was an ally of America and after that war, Spain took command of the territory. When, in the late 18th century, France acquired Louisiana from Spain, there was disagreement between the two nations as to whether West Florida was or was not included in the deal. In 1803, President Jefferson completed the Louisiana Purchase, inheriting the running debate between France and Spain. The inhabitants of the region, largely composed of English speaking people, chafed under the revolving door of government that spoke languages that they didn't understand and ruled by monarchs who they would never see. They became very angry.
In 1803, the first revolt took place, known as the Kemper Rebellion, led by three brothers: Nathan, Reuben and Samuel Kemper. It was unsuccessful, but it placed Spain on alert. In an attempt to avoid further bloodshed, that country allowed a smattering of common English liberties to the residents of the area. It was too little - too late. On September 11 of 1810, a second revolt took place, led by Major Isaac Johnson, who led a march to the capital in Baton Rouge. They captured the town on September 23 and raised a flag over the fort. It consisted of a single white five-pointed star on a field of dark blue. On September 26, A Declaration of Independence from Spain was passed in convention and the Republic of West Florida was founded. The same flag was adopted as their national emblem. The Republic didn't survive for long. On October 27, United States President James Madison proclaimed that West Florida was, in fact, a part of the Louisiana Territory. The Stars and Stripes was raised over the fort, but the "Bonnie Blue Flag" had etched itself in the consciousness of many southerners as a symbol of liberty at all costs.
When the Republic of Texas was founded in 1832, a similar flag was adopted, and Texas is still well-known as the "Lone Star State." On January 9, 1861, Mississippi seceded from the Union, establishing the Republic of Mississippi. A blue flag with a single star was raised over the capitol in Jackson. A member of the audience was an Irish born comedian and actor named Harry McCarthy, who composed lyrics and set them to a tune from his birthplace, The Irish Jaunting Car. He called his creation The Bonnie Blue Flag. The banner later became the first flag of the Confederate States of America.
Harry Macarthy was an English-born vaudeville entertainer who emigrated to the United States in 1849 and settled in Arkansas. He billed himself the "Arkansas Comedian" and traveled widely throughout the South in company with his wife, Lottie, putting on "personation concerts." These performances featured Macarthy singing in the dialect of other cultures, dancing to ethnic-sounding music, and dressing in flamboyant costumes. Stephen Currie, in Music in the Civil War, reports that one of Macarthy's traveling companions during the war years was a cockatoo who had been trained to squawk "Three cheers for Jeff Davis!" on stage. Macarthy premiered "The Bonnie Blue Flag" during a concert in Jackson, Mississippi, in the spring of 1861. He performed it a second time in September of that same year at the New Orleans Academy of Music in front of an audience of soldiers headed for the Virginia front. Again, the response was enthusiastic, and Macarthy was suddenly in demand as he had never been before. He traveled throughout the South during the war years, performing to packed houses of appreciative listeners, and although he continued to compose patriotic songs (among them "Missouri and The Volunteer" or "It Is My Country's Call." "The Bonnie Blue Flag" was his greatest success. Although some claim that Macarthy was more interested in attracting audiences and making money than he was in supporting the Southern cause, the song was an undeniable hit with Confederate soldiers and civilians alike and remains one of the classic Southern War songs.
LYRICS:
We are a band of brothers
And native to the soil,
Fighting for the property
We gained by honest toil;
And when our rights were threatened,
The cry rose near and far--
"Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag
That bears a single star!"
CHORUS: Hurrah! Hurrah!
For Southern rights hurrah!
Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag
That bears a single star.
As long as the Union
Was faithful to her trust,
Like friends and like brothers
Both kind were we and just;
But now, when Northern treachery
Attempts our rights to mar,
We hoist on high the Bonnie Blue Flag
That bears a single star.--CHORUS
First gallant South Carolina
Nobly made the stand,
Then came Alabama,
Who took her by the hand.
Next quickly Mississippi,
Georgia and Florida
All raised on high the Bonnie Blue Flag
That bears a single star.--CHORUS
Ye men of valor, gather round
The banner of the right;
Texas and fair Louisiana
Join us in the fight.
Davis, our loved president,
And Stephens statesman are;
Now rally round the Bonnie Blue Flag
That bears a single star.--CHORUS
And here's to old Virginia--
The Old Dominion State--
Who with the young Confederacy
At length has linked her fate;
Impelled by her example,
Now other states prepare
To hoist on high the Bonnie Blue Flag
That bears a single star.--CHORUS
Then cheer, boys, cheer;
Raise the joyous shout,
For Arkansas and North Carolina
Now have both gone out;
And let another rousing cheer
For Tennessee be given,
The single star of the Bonnie Blue Flag
Has grown to be eleven.--CHORUS
Then here's to our Confederacy,
Strong are we and brave;
Like patriots of old we'll fight
Our heritage to save.
And rather than submit to shame,
To die we would prefer;
So cheer for the Bonnie Blue Flag
That bears a single star.--CHORUS
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