Johnny Reb TV Commercial
Searching for Black Confederates: The Civil War’s Most Persistent Myth
“Levin’s study is the first of its kind to blueprint and then debunk the mythology of enslaved African Americans who allegedly served voluntarily in behalf of the Confederacy.”–Journal of Southern History
I used listen to an old Johnny Horton album on my parent’s HiFi — it was great. Must have been a greatest hits LP, or something. “Battle of New Orleans,” “Commanche,” and my favorite, “Sink the Bismarck.”
To add to Andy Hall’s information: In Kenneth A. Bernard’s _Lincoln and Music of the Civil War_ (1966), the author also cites the Apr. 10 issue of the Washington Evening Star (n10, p. 298) in support of the April 8th performance. Bernard also mentions a performance of Dixie by a Union Band as Lincoln met Grant at Appomattox on Apr. 9, as well as the performance on the 10th. Newspaper sources for the 9th are the Chicago Post and Toronto Daily Leader (both Apr. 18). For the 10th: New York Herald and New York Times (Apr. 11). A quick search on Proquest of the NYT yielded an AP dispatch fron Washington dated Apr. 10 that varies a little from the National Intelligencer report. The author of the AP dispatch includes the information that a band began playing Dixie, but stopped quickly, because Lincoln wished to continue, making that humorous remark about the Attorney-General.
I’m on a deadline right now, but it would be fun to track down the other sources.
Cheers,
Kirsten
I’m sorry, David, Kevin, and Andy! I meant this as a reply to Andy’s comment, but opened the window in unfamiliar software with the following confusing result.
Sheepishly,
Kirsten
That’s great. I can imagine the eye-rolling among Lincoln’s staff: “Ugh, not that joke again!
Lincoln: “What’s wrong John!”
Hay: “Now I’ve got “Dixie” stuck in my head and I can’t get it out. You gotta give that one a rest, sir.”
Lincoln: “Why, that reminds me of the story of the old farmer who. . . .”
I’ve often wondered about that “Lincoln requested Dixie” story: it shows up in other songs as well. Is that well-documented, or likely apocryphal?
Goodwin describes this event in Team of Rivals, citing a January 1893 article by Charles Adolphe Pineton, Marquis de Chambrun, a friend of Charles Sumner who accompanied Lincoln to City Point in April 1865 (p. 34):
Goodwin places this event at the window of the White House, however, and includes a citation to Through Five Administrations: Reminiscences of Colonel William H. Crook, Body Guard to President Lincoln by Margarita Spalding Gerry, which gives a remarkably similar quote from Lincoln, at the White House (p. 61-62):
Should be noted that Crook was on the City Point trip, as well.
Finally, it is described in Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, as being written up in the National Intellegencer (p. 393):
So. The local paper confirms the second account, the event taking place at the White House. The two eyewitness memoirs, both written long after the event, describing very similar occurrences and quotes, happening 48 hours apart. Both apparently credible witnesses. I suspect that Goodwin, having contemporaneous confirmation of the White House event, decided that Chambrun was mistaken about the date. Perhaps, but given the tendency for modern day pols to tell the same joke or anecdote over and over again at public appearances, it wouldn’t surprise me too much if Lincoln actually did this twice.
Thanks Andy.