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THE BATTLE OF PLATTSBURGH Stan Ransom, The Connecticut Pedler Music from the War of 1812
Tracks:
- THE BATTLE OF PLATTSBURGH
Broadside. Tune: Yankee Doodle. Drum, guitar, mandolin. Attributed to Miner Lewis of Mooers Forks, NY.
- ROSLYN CASTLE/BACKSIDE ALBANY
Tunes of 1814. “Roslyn Castle” was played over the grave of Captain George Downie, killed in the Battle of Plattsburgh, September 11, 1814. He was the Commander of the British fleet, and was on board the “Confiance,” his flagship. “Backside Albany” was a poem by Micah Hawkins, to be sung “in the character of a Negro sailor,” ridiculing the British efforts, February, 1815. Instrumental: Hammered dulcimer, guitar, drum.
- SIEGE OF PLATTSBURGH
Micah Hawkins poem, set to the Irish tune, “Boyne Water,” performed on February 15, 1815. Banjo, drum.
- NOBLE LADS OF CANADA
Broadside. Satirical song of the British attack on Plattsburgh, by British troops from Canada. Guitar, mandolin.
- BRITISH GRENADIERS/SCOTLAND THE BRAVE/KING GEORGES MARCH
Instrumental: Hammered dulcimer, guitar, drum. Three British marches.
- SHELDON (LEM) DURKEE
Banjo, mandolin. From a poem of 1814 by Francis Sterne Palmer. Tune original.
- THE BOYS AT THE BRIDGE
Original. Story of Aikens Volunteers, young boys who held the Bridge Street Bridge in 1814 from the British. Congress, in 1826, awarded them new rifles. Guitar.
- NEW RIGGED SHIP/LEATHER BRITCHES/DEVIL AMONG THE TAYLORS
(Devils Dream). Instrumental: hammered dulcimer and guitar.
- BANKS OF CHAMPLAIN
Song by Catherine Macomb, wife of General Macomb, in 1814. Tune: Banks of the Dee. Autoharp, mandolin.
- KATE OF COLERAINE/KITTY TYRRELL/LOVELY NANCY
Guitar, hammered dulcimer. Popular 1814 tunes.
- MIDSHIPMAN PAULDING
Original. Story of this resourceful officer in the Battle of Plattsburgh. Guitar. Tune: Chevy Chase.
- A NEW SONG: THE LATE WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN
Broadside. By Silas Ballou. Tune traditional: The Girl I Left Behind Me. Guitar, mandolin.
- THE WASPS FROLIC/GURRIERE DANCE
1813 tunes by Charles OHara, on the capture of the British Frolic by the American Wasp, and the sinking of the British Guerriere by Captain Hull. Instrumental: Hammered dulcimer, guitar, drum.
- HOW HAPPY THE SOLDIER
Song popular on both sides during the War of 1812. Guitar, mandolin, drum.
- THE RECRUITING OFFICER
Song, from George Farquhars 18th century comedy. Tune: Over the Hills and Far Away. Also used in Gays Beggars Opera. Guitar.
- LA BELLE CATHERINE/GO TO THE DEVIL AND SHAKE YOURSELF
Instrumental. Hammered dulcimer, guitar. Popular tunes of 1812.
- CRAB ISLAND: REFLECTIONS ON CROSSING LAKE CHAMPLAIN
In the Steamboat Phoenix.Tune original. Poem written in 1822 in her 14th year by Lucretia Maria Davidson. 150 men killed in the Battle of Plattsburgh are buried there. Guitar.
- NANCY DAWSON/FLOWERS OF EDINBURGH/WHITE COCKADE
Hammered dulcimer, guitar. Tunes popular in 1814.
- THE WASPS FROLIC
Song written October 18, 1812. On Captain Jones taking of the Frolic by the Wasp. Tune: Old Rosin the Beau. Guitar, mandolin, autoharp.
- HEY, BETTY MARTIN, TIP TOP FINE
Fifers and drummers frequently played this tune during the War of 1812. Song about a smart country bumpkin not fooled by city slickers. “My Eye and Betty Martin!” Guitar, mandolin, drum. (Note: Third verse: A “jarvis” is a coach.)
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