Posted on 05/24/2004 12:06:26 AM PDT by SAMWolf
I wrote a song about Forrest's pursuit of Straight's Raiders from the Yankee perspective. The chords are based on the Dire Straights tune The Man's Too Strong from the Brothers in Arms record:
Keep Up The Scare
Dm C
We set out from Eastport mounted on mules
B Dm
Through the hills of Alabama, we thought we couldn't lose
Dm C
We stopped them cold at Day's Gap, seized two guns
B Dm
But that was days ago, the chase had just begun
*chorus*
G D
Straight said that only one road would take us to Rome
C -walk down- Am C -walk down- Am
If we don't get there soon, then we aint goin' home
G D
Rebels up behind us, looking for a fight
C -walk down- Am C -walk down- Am D
We're marching cold and hungry through another sleepless night
-
We burned the bridge at Black Creek, the water deep and swift
Not another ford for miles, we thought we given the rebels the slip
As the vanguard reached there to find the bridge in flames
A young girl came forward, Emma Sanson was her name
A hundred yards up river, there's an old unused ford
Your men can cross over the river and kill yankees once more
*chorus*
Morton had just two guns, but through subterfuge
Able Straight saw twenty and he didn't see the ruse
They marched us to a hallow, stacked 1,500 arms
But when the rebels came forward they were only 400 strong
We finally got to Rome, and though I didn't die
I'm a prisoner of war, without a gun and a horse and tears in my eyes
*chorus*
Benedict Arnold: The Making of a Traitor
Benedict Arnold's performance at the Battles of Saratoga contributed to the American victory there. But a bitter rivalry with his commander helped start Arnold down the road to treason.
By Steve Puleo for American History Magazine
The season was changing. Hot afternoons gave way to cool evenings and cooler mornings as summer turned to autumn in New York's upper Hudson Valley. Beneath the green, red, and orange canopy of leaves shrouding the hills that straddled the Hudson River, a different sort of transformation was taking place. Four months into British Lieutenant General John Burgoyne's invasion of the northern colonies, his army had collided with Major General Horatio Gates's entrenched Americans. Now, on September 19, 1777, the first of two fateful battles--bound to alter the course of the American Revolution--had begun.
At Gates's headquarters behind the American lines on Bemis Heights (named for Jotham Bemis, a local tavern keeper), 36-year-old Major General Benedict Arnold seethed with impatience. The fiery Connecticut native held command of the American left wing, which Burgoyne had attacked that morning. After directing the American defense for much of the day, Arnold now found himself wasting his energy by repeatedly requesting that Gates give him reinforcements. He ached to sweep the field before dark.
Gates eventually sent portions of Brigadier General Ebenezer Learned's brigade to support the Americans who were battling across a wide, stump-filled field called Freeman's Farm. Shortly afterward, Deputy Quartermaster Colonel Morgan Lewis reported in at headquarters and told Gates of the indecisive fighting. That was enough for Arnold. "By God, I will soon put an end to it" he declared, and mounted a horse to go and lead the troops himself.
"You had better order him back," Lewis told Gates. "The action is going well. He may, by some rash act, do mischief."
Gates immediately sent an aide to bring him back, and Arnold angrily complied. By this time Learned's unguided infantry had wandered too far to the west, where they were all but wiped out by Brigadier General Simon Fraser's British troops. Meanwhile, 500 German soldiers under Major General Baron Friedrich von Riedesel had marched to Freeman's Farm and stopped the final American advance. Darkness then descended, ending the contest.
Left in command of the field, Burgoyne could technically claim victory in the First Battle of Saratoga (also known as the Battle of Freeman's Farm), but he had suffered 560 casualties, almost twice the American total. The British Army had shrunk to less than 7,000 effectives, while Gates could boast of nearly 12,000 Continentals and militia. The Americans could still win a victory. All the soldiers needed, Arnold believed, was inspiration, but he doubted it would come from his commander.
Horatio Gates, American commander of the Northern Department, held a military position in America that far exceeded anything he could have achieved in his native England, where he had been born a commoner. Writer Hoffman Nickerson characterized Gates as "a snob of the first water" who possessed "an unctuously pious way with him." Although Gates was an ambitious man, dynamic leadership was not part of his makeup. The former British officer did not believe American troops could stand up to British infantry in the open field. Though his men clearly outnumbered those of his opponent, Gates remained cautious and believed his army was better off fighting from behind fortifications.
Arnold, in contrast, was daring and imaginative. He had proven his abilities during the doomed attempt to capture Quebec in 1775 and at the Battle of Valcour Island the next year. At Saratoga his views differed from those held by Gates. From the first reports of British movement on the morning of September 19, Arnold pestered his commander for permission to send riflemen to the woods west of Freeman's Farm. There, Arnold believed, the quick-moving Americans could set an ambush for the approaching columns. Gates permitted him to send out a "reconnaissance in force" shortly before 1:00 p.m., and Arnold eagerly dispatched Colonel Daniel Morgan's famed Rangers and Major Henry Dearborn's light infantry.
Arnold fed additional regiments into the fray, about 3,000 Continental troops and militia in total. Captain Ebenezer Wakefield remembered Arnold "in front of the line, his eyes flashing, pointing with his sword to the advancing foe, with a voice that rang clear as a trumpet and electrified the line." Arnold's division tangled with Fraser's column on the left and Burgoyne's personally led column in the center. Hemmed in by the river and Gates's right wing on the heights, Riedesel's German units sat motionless until 5:00 p.m., when Burgoyne sent for him to reinforce his besieged center. If Gates had countered this move, Arnold felt, the Americans would have carried the day. But Gates, citing a shortage of ammunition, was content with a draw.
Within days of the battle, tension between Gates and Arnold boiled over. Gates made no mention of Arnold or his division in his battle report to Congress, though they had done all of the fighting. Even more galling to the ultra-sensitive Arnold was his commander's September 22 decree that Daniel Morgan would thereafter report only to him. Arnold stormed into Gates's headquarters. A loud argument ensued, and the two men exchanged "high words and gross language." Gates questioned Arnold's very qualification for command. He also told Arnold that he planned to assume direct command of the left wing as soon as Major General Benjamin Lincoln arrived to take over the right.
(snip)
http://americanhistory.about.com/library/prm/blbenedictarnold1.htm
Great thread! Thanks!
In addendum to what I posted about General Jo Shelby. There was a very popular tune written about him. It's said that it was one of Jesse Jame's favorite songs. Mine too.
'Shelby's Mule'
The Union folks away up north were one time much afraid,
'Bout something coming from the South, they said it was a raid.
Now I will tell you what it was, if you will just keep cool—
It had long ears, and a long slick tail, and called Jo Shelby's Mule.
CHORUS
Shout Boys, make a noise, the Yankees are afraid
That something's up and hell's to pay when Shelby's on a raid.
Once this mule went on a spree, up close to Lexington,
And every time he gave a snort he made the Blue Coats run.
Coming back through “Old Saline” he got into a trap,
He seared Old Brown, kicked up his heels, and came back safe to Pap.
Once I went to see Old Abe and found him in a rage,
Because this mule had started north, and just then crossed “sage.
Indeed, his anger knew no bounds, says I, “Sir, pray keep cool.”
“I can't,” said he, “I've lost so much by Shelby's long tailed Mule.”
“Old Rosy” got a long dispatch, which came from way down East. Saying, “Take some thirty thousand men and try to catch that beast.” To obey orders he was bound, but said Abe was a fool, And hadn't halter strong enough to hold Jo Shelby's Mule.
Some say our State did not secede, but let me tell you now That if she did or if she didn't we'll have her anyhow. Let us alone, we'll do the same, that is the Southern rule; If that won't do we'll pack the State down South on Shelby's Mule.
Morning PE.
Nice Flag-o-Gram.
Nothing wrong with high and tight. :-)
Wikipedia is an open content encyclopedia worth exploring. Below is the link to Nathan Bedford Forrest's page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Bedford_Forrest
You're welcome, society-by-contract.
I need to take a picture. He looks really slick.
Richard Ketchum's treatment of The Battle of Saratoga and the events leading up to it is excellent. This campaign shows that an orderly retreat is not necessarily a bad thing (San Jacinto proves this as well). Below is a link to Ketchum's book on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0805061231/qid=1085411200/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-7316133-9521741?v=glance&s=books
One person's 'rebel' is another's 'patriot'.
You got that right, all depends on which side you're looking from.
Thanks for the idea for another thread. I'll have to see what I can find on Joe Shelby.
Not familiar with the tune, but I like the words.
At The Movie Theater
An usher at a movie noticed that a man was stretched across 3 seats. The usher walks over and says, "I'm sorry sir, but you're only allowed one seat."
The man snorts but doesn't move.
The usher says, "Sir if you don't move I will have to get the manager."
Again the man snorted, but didn't budge.
The usher goes and gets the manager. The manager requests that the man moves, but gets no response.
The manager calls the police and they arrive and the police officer goes over to the guy and says "What’s your name, joker?"
The guy says "Joe".
The policeman says, "An where ya from, Joe."
Joe answers, "The balcony.
Arnold could have been one of America's great Revolutionary heroes. "Pride goeth before the fall"
Hey Sam.
Thanks for the lyrics. I wish I could "hear" the tune. I'll have to see if I can find it somewhere.
Thanks for the link. I've used Wikipedia as a resource on other threads.
:-)
"From the balcony"
LOL!
One person's 'rebel' is another's 'patriot'.
You got that right, all depends on which side you're looking from.
You got that right. I wouldn't bother with Johnny "all rebels are traitors" one note. He no doubt supports The Divine Right of Kings and views the Romanian insurrection that toppled Ceausescu as an affront to the legitimate government of Cold War Romania. For some, the state is god.
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