Also Buried at Louisville's Cave Hill Cemetery-- Part 6: "Pappy" Van Winkle and "Charlie Ward

Buried at the cemetery along with Charles C. Gilbert.

JULIAN PROCTOR "PAPPY" VAN WINKLE, SR.  (1874-1965)

Businessman known as "Pappy" Van Winkle, he is the namesake of the premium bourbon of the same name (Old Rip Van Winkle).  Other brands his former company produced were Old Fitzgerald and Rebel Yell.  (I'm quite fond of Rebel Yell even though they changed its logo.)

***********************

CHARLES L. "CHARLIE" WARD  (1838-1875)

Songwriter, Confederate soldier and musician.  Well-known writer of minstrel and ,olotary songs in the 1850s and 1860s.  He wrote the words and/or music to such songs as "I'm Coming to My Dixie Home," "Think of Your Head in the Morning," "The Faded Gray Jacket" and "The Kentucky  Battle Song."

There has been speculation that the  tune "Dixie" was actually written by Charles Ward, with words by  Will S. Hays (not by Daniel Emmett)

During the Civil War, Ward  was the Chief Musician of the 4th Kentucky Volunteer Infantry, CSA, of the famous Kentucky Orphan Brigade.

Bourbon and Dixie.   --Old Secesh

RoadTrippin'-- Part 13: Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio

One aspect of RoadTrippin' Thru History is that you see how many other things you can attach to your main story.  Quite often, I find out where someone I'm writing about is buried and see if anyone else of interest is buried there.

Francis E. Warren's second wife, Clara Morgan Warren, remarried after his death.  She married Albert Russel.  Both she and he are buried at Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio, where quite a few people of note are buried.

Some of them are:

Alan Freed, one of the early Rock and Roll deejays.  Known as the "Father of Rock and Roll."

James Garfield, the 20th President of the United States.

Coburn Haskell, inventor of the modern golf ball.

John Hay, private secretary to Abraham Lincoln.  Also U.S. Secretary of State.

Eliot Ness, the FBI agent who brought Al Capone to justice.

John D. Rockefeller, considered one of the wealthiest Americans of all time.  Oil refining.

Carl B. Stokes, the first black mayor of Cleveland and the first black mayor of a major U.S. city.

Nate Thurmond, noted NBA player.

John White William, a founder of the chewing gum industry.

Alexander Winton, automotive pioneer.  Winton cars.

Quite a few Union generals as well.

Over 100,000 burials are at this cemetery.

--Old Secesh

An Added Little Nugget for Col. William Robert Greer and a Roadtrip Through History-- Part 1: A War of 1812 Trip

As I usually do when I come across names while researching a topic, I look them up to see if there is any more information as part of my Roadtrip Through History and I found a piece of information about this man that really made my day.  He was the featured speaker at the dedication of Charleston's "Defenders of Charleston" statue in 1932.  At the time, he was the last living of those defenders who held onto Fort Sumter during the tremendous Union attacks in 1863.

Right now, I am doing research on the disappearance of Theodosia Burr Alston in my Not So Forgotten War of 1812 blog.  And with a middle name like Burr, well, I just had to know.  Aaron Burr?  That scamp of American history who killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel, had been a former U.S. vice president and later attempted to cause a rebellion in the South?  That Burr?  Well, she was his daughter.

I arrived at the name Theodosia while researching about the HMS Nimrod which captured a whole lot of American ships during the War of 1812 and bombarded two Massachusetts towns.  There had been an earlier HMS Nimrod (1799) which had formerly been a French privateer, was taken into British service, which had captured a French privateer in 1807.  This one was also taken into British service  as the HMS Venturer which later had its name changed to HMS Theodosia.  This was why I came across the name Theodosia and how I ended up with Burr's daughter.

I also found out that there was a HMS Venturer submarine during WW II, that became the first submarine to sink another submarine (a German U-boat) with a torpedo while both were submerged.  I wrote about this in my Tattooed On Your Soul: World War II blog.

And, Theodosia, Burr's daughter, disappeared while on a ship during the War of 1812, and to this day, no one knows what happened to her.  I have been writing about her and her disappearance in that blog.

Now, yesterday,  I found out that she had a song about her in the popular musical "Hamilton."  I didn't see it, so this was news to me.  In it, Aaron Burr sang to his just-born daughter while Alexander Hamilton sang to his just-born son, Philip.  Both saw great things in store for their progeny.  The song was "Dear Theodosia."

But, as I said, Theodosia disappeared and Philip Hamilton was killed in a duel three years before his dad met a similar fate.  And, I found out that both Hamiltons were killed at the same place.

This is what my Roadtrippin' Through History is all about.  I start at one place and see where it takes me.

And, you're probably wondering about that nugget of information I found out about Col. William Robert Greer.  Well, I found out this information by Roadtrippin'.  You'll have to wait until the next post.

And, I wonder why it takes me so long to do these blogs.

A Road Tripping Through History I Go.  Or, If Your Name Is Hamilton, Don't Duel.  --Old Secesh

In Honor of Veterans Day: Musicians Who Served and Chicago Veteran Memorials

From the METV Monday MeMail, Nov. 11, 2019.

They play a long list of artists who served in the nation's military, including Elvis Presley, Lou Rawls, Johnny Cash, and Bobby Vinton.

Chicago is home to Veterans. Memorial Park on the south side, the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial in the Loop and the National Veterans' Art Museum on the northwest side.

Lyrics to "Goober Peas" "Wearing Out Your Grinders Eating Goober Peas"

As sung by Burl Ives.

Sittin' by the roadside on a summer's day
Chattin' with my mess-mates, passing time away
Laying in the shadows underneath the trees
Goodness how delicious eating goober peas.


REFRAIN

Peas, peas, peas, peas
Eating goober peas
Goodness how delicious
Eating goober peas.
*****************


When a horse-man passes, the soldiers have a rule
To cry out their loudest, "Mr., here's your mule"?
But another pleasure enchanting-er than these
Is wearing out your grinders, eating goober peas.

REFRAIN


Just before the battle, the General hears a row
He said, "The Yanks are coming, I hear their rifles now"
He turns around in wonder and what do you think he sees?
The Georgia Militia eating goober peas.

REFRAIN


I think my song has lasted almost long enough
The subject's interesting but the rhymes are mighty tough
I wish this war was over and free from rags and fleas
We'd kiss our wives and sweethearts, and gobble goober peas.


REFRAIN

I may be from the South, but I find boiled peanuts disgusting.

--Old BoiledPeanutsHater

U.S. Zouave Cadets-- Part 2: Doing That Zouave Thing

There is a song sheet cover for a song dedicated to them called "The U.S. Zouave Quarter Step."

There were numerous Zouave units on both sides during the war, some wearing variations of the loose-fitting uniforms.Elmer Ellsworth received a Zouave drill manual and took over a drill company in Chicago that was about on its last legs.  he renamed it the Zouave Cadets and toured nationally one summer/fall before the war.

Ellsworth was a law clerk for Abraham Lincoln before he became president.

Ellsworth's monument and grave are in Hudson View Cemetery in Mechanicsville, New York.

--Old Secesh

Remembering 9/11 in 2015: "Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue (The Angry American)"

Continued from my Cooter's History Thing blog.

Lyrics to Toby Keith's "Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue."

Continuing with the spoken words.

Never heard him cry about it one time
he was glad to go, do it, that's why we're free today
And it's our turn to stand on what our fathers and forefathers did for us
And make sure we don't let 'em down.

I wrote a song in the following days after September 11th.
It's called the angry American
I wanna send this out to my father tonight.


American girls and guys
We'll always stand up and salute, we'll always recognize
When we see Old Glory flying, there's a lot of men dead
So we can sleep in peace at night when we lay down our head.

My daddy served in the Army where he lost his right eye
But he flew a flag out in our yard 'til the day that he died
He wanted my mother, my brother, my sister and me
To grow up and live happy in the land of the free.

Continued on my Running the Blockade Civil War Naval blog.

Behind "Lorena"-- Part 3: The Song

Henry Webster left Zanesville and eventually met Joseph Webster (I'm still not sure whether they were related or not), who was looking for lyrics to a song he had.  And the rest is history.

The first part of "Lorena":

Ih the years creep slowly by, Lorena,
The snow is on the ground again.
The sun's low down in the sky, Lorena,
The frost gleams where the flow'rs have been.
But the heart beats on as warmly now,
As when the summer days were night.
Oh, the sun can never dip so low,
A-down affection's cloudless sky.

--Old Secesh

"Lorena": Part 7: Webster After the War, "By and By"

After the war, Joseph Webster returned his focus on writing ballads and hymns.  He opened a saloon and one of of its patrons was Sanford Fillmore Bennett, the local pharmacist. who would later write the lyrics for "In the Sweet By and By."

According to local legend, Webster walked into Bennett's pharmacy in a despondent mood, but had his violin with him.  When Bennett asked what was wrong, Webster responded that he would be alright "by and by."

Picking up on the phrase, Bennett began writing verses and a chorus, and Webster began to work out a melody on his violin.  In a short time, they had written "In the Sweet By and By."  The original words are on display at the Webster House Museum in Elkhorn, Wisconsin.

The song was published in "The Signet Ring" and later in numerable hymn and songbooks.

The Chicago Fire in 1871 destroyed many of Webster's manuscripts, instruments and possessions where he had stored them in the offices of his Chicago publisher, Lyon and Healey.  As a result, Webster and his family suffered substantial royalty losses and his heirs filed suit in 1906, but didn't receive settlement money until 1921.

--Old Secesh

"Lorena" Songwriter, Joseph Webster, Lived in Elkhorn, Wisconsin-- Part 3: Abolitionist Views Force a Move

As Joseph Webster was doing business in Kentucky, he saw slavery and didn't like what he saw and became an abolitionist.  Madison, being located on the Ohio River, directly across from Kentucky, also had strong pro-slavery views (as well as abolitionist).

Once Webster's views were known, he began receiving threats on his life.  One incident where Webster was called upon to fix a church's organ on a late Saturday night, he was attacked by a man with a dagger, but able to defend himself.

That was the final straw.  The family moved north to Chicago in 1855 and a short time later to Racine, Wisconsin.  The lake air aggravated Webster's chronic bronchitis and 1859, they moved away from the lake to Elkhorn, Wisconsin, where they settled permanently.

--Old Secesh

"Lorena" Songwriter, Joseph Webster" Lived in Elkhorn, Wisconsin-- Part 2

He wrote "Lorena" with Henry DeLafayette Webster (relative?) and "In the Sweet By and By" with Sanford Bennett.  "I'll Twine 'Mid the Ringlets" was based on a poem by Maud Irving.  It was Joseph Webster who wrote the tunes and harmonies.

Joseph Philbrick Webster was born in Manchester, New Hampshire, in 1819, and had an early interest in music and taught himself to play several instruments.  At 15, he attended a 13-night singing school where he learned to read music and then attended Pembroke Academy studying music and military drills.

He graduated from there in 1840 and then studied music at the Boston Academy of Music.

Afterwards, he toured all over the eastern United States as a concert singer, but bronchitis ended that.  He then turned his attention to writing music and over the course of his life wrote over 1,000 songs.

In 1850, he and his wife, Joanna, left Connecticut, looking for relief from his affliction and traveled south before settling in Madison, Indiana, on the Ohio River and operating an agency for Lighte and Bradbury who sold musical instruments.   This is one interesting city to visit, but back then, it was the hub of trade and culture with many of the biggest names performing there.

Webster's Agency occupied a two-story building where he sold pianos and musical instruments on the first floor and had "Webster Hall" on the second where concerts were held.  In addition to selling instruments, Webster made money as a music teacher, composer and tuner and traveled much into Kentucky.

Next, Forced to Move.  --Old Secesh

Heritage Attacks-- Part 2: One Thing and Another

Here is a partial list of some items I mostly found offensive about attacks on Confederate heritage from last year:

FEB. 20TH: NAACP and SCV join forces versus the KKK about park renaming. Now, this is an act of much-needed co-operation. The KKK is a huge reason why Confederate heritage is so much under attack. I do not consider this a heritage attack.

MARCH 11TH: Old Slave Road in St. Louis may be getting a new name. Residents along the road say it offends people. Opponents say they're trying to sanitize history. Most property owners along it would like it renamed Elijah Madison Lane to recognize a former slave who fought in the Civil War.

APRIL 13TH: "Conferate flag flies high over Palestine, controversy heats up." The SCV on Saturday hoisted a Confederate flag in a private ceremony at Confederate Veterans Memorial Plaza. The NAACP, however, is upset, saying it is the banner of "hatred, depression, oppression, slavery, and it's nothing but divisive.

Then, there was all that controversy over Brad Paisley's "Accidental Racist" song. He was trying to explain why he is the way he is.

Who Says the Civil War Is Over? --Old Secesh

The North's "Battle Hymn of the Republic"

"The Battle Hymn of the Republic" was written by Julia Ward Howe in 1861 as a poem and published in the Atlantic Monthly Magazine in 1862. Union troops had already been singing the song "John Brown's Body" as an unofficial anthem for the cause. Howe believed the troops needed a more uplifting tune and her words were set to "John Brown's" music.

Julia Ward Howe was born in New York City in 1819. At age 21 she married Samuel Howe, who believed a woman's place was in the home and shouldn't speak in public. Even so, he allowed his wife's poem to be published.

There is some belief that he helped fund John Brown's attack on Harper's Ferry, the real flame for the war.

--Old Secesh

You "Ain't" Just Whistlin' "Dixie:" the Song-- Part 2: The Great Dixie Debate

As far as where the term Dixie came from, some believe it referred to Louisiana which had a large French population and still was using French currency. Their ten dollar bill was called a "dix" and the word was printed on the bill. Louisiana became known as Dix's Land and then Dixie Land.

Others (including myself) believe Emmett was referring to Dixon of the pre-Revolutionary War Mason- Dixon line, the boundary between Maryland (the South) and Pennsylvania (the North).

It has also been reported that Northern circus people had coined the phrase "I wish I was in Dixie" meaning that they wished the show would move down South when winter came.

The Great Dixie Debate. --Old Secesh

You "Ain't" Just Whistlin' "Dixie:" the Song-- Part 1: A Yankee Wrote It

From the September 15, 2012, Waxahachie Texas Daily Light. "Spotlight on History: Two Famous songs of the Civil War" by David Hudgins.

"Dixie" was also titled "Dixie's Land," "Dixie Land" and "I Wish I Was In Dixie's Land." Daniel Emmett of Ohio wrote it and it was first sung in New York in 1859.

Emmett was a member of a minstrel stage show where white people performed in blackface. The owner of the show asked him to write an upbeat "walk-around" song for the show because the tunes they were using were getting old. At the end of the show, someone would come up on stage and start singing and try to get the audience to sing along.

The phrase "I wish I was in Dixie" was not a normal Southern statement. It was a Northern phrase used to describe the South.

Even to this day, no one is really sure exactly where Mr. Emmett's Dixie was (like Margaritaville or Kokomo).

More Dixie to Come. --Old Secesh

Civil War Naval and Homefront Songs-- Part 2

You can go to the Smithsonian site and listen to the songs.

I am not sure how many of these songs would be Homefront ones and hope homefront only in that people besides sailors would sing them. Most folks are very familiar with the songs sung in the armies, but this opens a whole new venue of Civil War music.

Judging by the names of the songs, I would say there is quite the Irish influence. The only song on the list that I recognize is #10, "All for Me Grog" which I used to play a lot when I deejayed around St. Patrick's Day and is a grand drinking song.

Congratulations to the Smithsonian. --Old B-Runner

Civil War Naval and Homefront Songs-- Part 1

From the April 22 Smithsonian.

Smithsonian Folkways Records has released a new collection of music "Civil War Songs: From the Union and Confederate Navies, and the Home Front."

This collection includes 13 tunes sailors sang on ships, in port or belted out in taverns.

A 40 page booklet accompanies the 13 track, 38-minute-long CD.

SONGS:

1. Ten Thousand Miles Away
2. The Ballad of O Bruedair/Out on the Ocean
3. The Saucy Ward
4. Captain Coulston
5. Granuaile
6. Get Up Jack John, Sit Down/Miss Thornton's
7. The Flying Cloud
8. Larry Maher's Big Five-Gallon Jar
9. Bold McCarthy (The City of Baltimore)
10. All for Me Grog/Parnell's March
11. Castle Gardens (Sixty Years Ago)
12. The Lowlands Low
13. The River Lea

Hoisting Up 'Dem Landlubbers. --Old B-R'er

Trace Adkins' "Til the Last Shot's Fired"

Recorded the CMA show Sunday. As usual, a great show, but for me, the main moment came when Trace Adkins sang "Til the Last Shot's Fired." That just got me, big time. I had to watch it about five times. Just one of those songs that send shivers up your back.

A good part of the song is where he is a Confederate soldier who dies at the Battle of Nashville. At the show, he was introduced by USMC Lt. Andrew Kiner who lost both legs overseas with the words, "It is not about the war, it's about the warrior." He received several standing ovations.

Then, there stood Trace alone in front of the West Point Glee Club, with pictures flashing behind him. It was enough to bring a tear to your eye.

The words to part of the song:

"I was there in the winter of '64
When we camped in the eyes of Nashville's door
Three hundred miles our trail had led
We barely had time to bury our dead

When the Yankees charged and our colors fell,
Overton Hill was a living hell
When we called retreat it was almost dark
I died with a grape shot in my heart."

Then the glee club kicked in with the chorus.

"Say a prayer for peace for every fallen son,
Set my spirit free. let me lay down my gun,
Sweet Mother Mary, I'm so tired,
but I can't come home til the last shot's fired."

Then, he went on to sing about World War II, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Trace Adkins wrote this song and it is on his album X (Ten). Well worth the purchase for this song alone.

I just wonder if some people will attack the song because of its reference to Confederate soldiers. Hopefully not.

That Was Quite a Moment. --Old B-Runner

"Home, Sweet Home"

The Dec. 28, 2008, Murfreesboro Post had an article by Mike West about this song that was popular both among Confederate and Union troops. "Home, Sweet Home" was also a particular favorite of Abraham Lincoln.

On the night of Dec. 30, 1862, right before the Battle of Stones River, there was a "Battle of the Bands" between the Union Army of the Cumberland and Confederate Army of Tennessee. Both groups, around 83,000 men, were encamped and awaiting dawn to commence the battle. "No Man's Land" between the forces was anywhere from 300 to 700 yards.

The bands on both sides began playing, easily heard by the other side at that distance. The Confederate "Bonnie Blue Flag" was answered by the Union "Yankee Doodle." "Dixie" brought the reply "Hail Columbia" and so forth.

Finally, one band played "Home, Sweet Home" and was joined by all bands, regardless of side.

A Little Nicety Before the Bloodbath. --Old B-Runner