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Posted on 10/05/2004 10:34:01 PM PDT by SAMWolf
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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| Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans.
Where the Freeper Foxhole introduces a different veteran each Wednesday. The "ordinary" Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine who participated in the events in our Country's history. We hope to present events as seen through their eyes. To give you a glimpse into the life of those who sacrificed for all of us - Our Veterans.
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He could make tired soldiers laugh, and his "Bonnie Blue Flag" churned southern audiences into a frenzy. That was why Harry Macarthy was loved from one end of the confederacy to the other.  Harry MaCarthy as portrayed in 'Gods and Generals' Damon Kirsche (Harry McCarthy) with Dana Stackpole (McCarthy's wife, Lottie Estelle). Harry Macarthy stood at center stage in the New Orleans Academy of Music one day in September 1861, singing to a packed house. His song was one few people had ever heard, but the audience of Confederate soldiers--men from Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas, passing through the city on their way to the Virginia front--took to it immediately. They stood and cheered as Macarthy sang. The consummate performer, Macarthy was not just singing; he was also playing a role, the part of a Confederate volunteer heading off to war. He was dressed in a full Confederate army uniform just like the men in the crowd. His wife, Lottie Estelle, played the sweetheart he was leaving behind. As Macarthy sang, Lottie dashed onto the stage waving a blue silk flag with a single white star on it, a popular symbol of Southern independence. When Lottie reached her husband, she threw her arms around his neck. It was a scene the young soldiers in the audience remembered vividly, and they could barely restrain themselves as Macarthy took "The Bonnie Blue Flag" into its chorus:  Hurrah! Hurrah! For Southern rights, hurrah! Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star. With every "hurrah," the soldiers jumped up to cheer. The gathering was on the verge of mayhem, so Macarthy, experienced stage performer that he was, waited until the crowd settled down before he launched into the second verse. Still, the more he sang, the more the audience howled. One soldier in the crowd, a member of Terry's Texas Rangers, was so worked up that he remained on his feet, cheering in oblivion after everyone else had sat down. His blind enthusiasm attracted the attention of a policeman patrolling the hall. The officer approached, tapped him on the shoulder, and told him to sit down. But the young man was too wound up. He responded with a blow that sent the officer tumbling.  In an instant, all was bedlam. Police tried to subdue the troublemaker, but the Rangers were not about to let one of their own be hauled off to a New Orleans jail. More police streamed into the hall to help, but to no avail. Chaos reigned until someone was struck with the good sense to summon Colonel Frank Terry and Mayor John T. Monroe. Both men rushed to the scene and called off their men. Order was restored, and Terry led his rowdy Rangers back to the relative quiet of camp. Within 24 hours of the near riot, "The Bonnie Blue Flag" had spread throughout the Confederate army. Talk of Macarthy spread, too. Not only had he given the memorable performance of the song in New Orleans; he himself had also written the stirring lyric, setting them to the tune of an old Irish folk song called "The Irish Jaunting Car." Macarthy was a hit, and for the rest of the war, he would do his best to keep his song and himself popular, taking his show on the road all over the South and providing diversion for thousands of civilians and soldiers. He lifted the morale of war-weary Southerners much as comedian Bob Hope would do for Americans during World War II. Like Hope in his days of entertaining GIs overseas, Macarthy was the most popular performer in his country, the Confederate States of America.  Actually, the South was not Macarthy's native land. He was an Englishman of Scotch-Irish descent and was 16 years old by the time he came to America in 1849. He launched his entertainment career shortly after arriving, starting out in 1850 playing bit parts in Philadelphia, and then joining an acting troupe in New Orleans in 1855. He was a talented actor with the good looks and charisma typical of a popular performer. One of the few existing descriptions of him says he was "a small, handsome man, and brimful of the humor and the pathos and impulsive generosity of the Celtic race." The only known pictures of him are those that grace the covers of a concert program and two pieces of sheet music. All were published at the height of his career and show him clean-shaven with thick black hair covering his ears. He had a straight nose and thin lips
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LOL!
I liked "When Johnny Comes Marching Home"
When Johnny comes marching home again,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
We'll give him a hearty welcome then
Hurrah! Hurrah!
The men will cheer and the boys will shout
The ladies they will all turn out
And we'll all feel gay,
When Johnny comes marching home.
The old church bell will peal with joy
Hurrah! Hurrah!
To welcome home our darling boy
Hurrah! Hurrah!
The village lads and lassies say
With roses they will strew the way,
And we'll all feel gay
When Johnny comes marching home.
Get ready for the Jubilee,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
We'll give the hero three times three,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
The laurel wreath is ready now
To place upon his loyal brow
And we'll all feel gay
When Johnny comes marching home.
Too bad the queers have ruined the song by pre-empting the language. :-(
Cool. Let us know how it goes.
What worked for me was velcro walls and put the kid in a velcro suit. Stick him to the wall and he'll be there when you come back. :-)
LOL! Only water so far.
Morning stand watie.
No good dead goes unpunished. :-)
You're welcome. I always get the picture of the 19th century in my mind too.
Her dad will want it for sure. :^)
Sam, The one or two times that I've flown the Missouri flag I've had Jehovah Witnesses come knocking at the door! The only response I've had from flying the 1st National or Stars and Bars was from a neighbor who thought it was the Betsy Ross flag from the Revolution. Guess they can't count either.
Good Evening..
:-[ vlah! vlah!
Wait.. it isn't evening by you yet, and it's only 1600 hrs here..
Oops.
Let us know what the reaction is. :-) I've gotton comments on my "CS" belt buckle, usually people trying to figure out what "CS" stands for.
LOL! Like the second one. :-)
If it wasn't so pathetic, it'd be funny.
Hey Darksheare.
I heard a rumor about some "fleeing villagers". ;-)
Hey Darksheare.
I heard a rumor about some "fleeing villagers". ;-)
Hmm.. true.
Guess they didn't like my singing.
LOL!
Heck, if I could run away when I sing, I would!
I don't even attempt to sing any more (Except for some reason Snippy likes my screeching)
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