Even though his military career didn't bring him to the front lines, Joseph Webster's best weapon in the war was his songwriting. He established a singing school in Elkhorn and it was there that he met Henry DeLafayette Webster, who was a teacher and principal of the Elkhorn schools. This other Webster, a minister collaborated with Joseph as lyricist for several songs, notably "Lorena," Webster's first hit.
I was not able to find anything about Henry Webster being in Elkhorn. Also, Find A Grave does not have his final resting place.
The mournful and sorrowful song was sung by the soldiers of both North and South who would sit around their campgrounds at night and sing it. It is also sometimes blamed for causing desertions because of homesickness. Confederate General John Hunt Morgan was reported as saying, "I will pay a bounty to the man who kills the scoundrel who wrote that song."
--Old Secesh
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