Folded sheet music

On the front cover:

“Yankee Robinson at Bull Run” 

To my sisters May and Fannie, old Homestead Richmond

Ontario Co. N. Y.

An original comic Yankee Song Written and Sung thousands of times

by the Great Yankee

Volunteers Wanted

Vermont three month men,

Drilling on the Potomac,

On to Richmond,

Blackhorse Cavalry

Published by P. L. Huyett & Son, St. Joseph Mo.

Fayette Lodawisk  Robinson

1867 Clerk office of the U. S. District Court for the northern district of Illinois

U.S. district court for the Western District of Missouri

The folded cover to the sheet music which depicts the comic song about the

Battle of Bull Run.

All Rights Reserved. For personal educational use only.

The verses:

Words by Yankee Robinson himself.

Arranged by Geo. H. Briggs.

Piano

1.  I’ve bin try-in all along tew git up suthin new;

And as the fashion of the times is each one for himself;

I calculate tew make a rhyme, I don’t dew anything else.

2.   I ‘listed with the three months boys, Way down in old

Varmount;

Our capting, he was a real hoss, He’d whip a cat-a-mount;

Jist as the roll was all fill’d up, We started off for war;

We didn’t care who we fit with, We warn’t particular.

3.  We landed down in Washington, with knapsacks all well filled;

But our capting tho’t, before we fought, we’d better all be drilled:

So ‘twas “eyes right,” “toes out,” “form in line,” and “march out

tew by tew:”

But there wan’t a man in the company that nay of these things

could dew.

That every man in the company on his own hook should fight:

So off we started in the night, and jist as day begun,

We jined U. Sam’s grand army, and arrived safe at Bull Run.

And as I raised my canteen up, I spied “Black Horse” Cavalry:

So I cut dirt and run like a deer

(yew couldn’t see my coat tail for the dust),

Background on the First Battle of Bull Run can be found in the Encyclopedia of the American Civil War Volume 1 pages 312-316. The incident in the song from the First Battle of Bull Run took place on July 21, 1861 in Manassas, Virginia. Confederate General Beauregard advanced his entire line. After 4:30 P.M. a wagon, capsized by a Confederate artillery shell, made a bottleneck in the Federal line of retreat. There was a chaotic flight back to Washington.

Verse 4 "U. Sam’s grand army"  would be the Federal side. There was one army in 1861. Uncle Sam's Grand Army. More information on the organization of forces can be found in the Encyclopedia of the American Civil War Volume 1 pages 108-111. Grand Army of the Republic GAR  can be found in the Encyclopedia of the American Civil War Volume 4 pages 2020-2021.

Verse 5  Cavalry can be found in the Encyclopedia of the American Civil War Volume 1 pages 377-381. Fear of the "Black Horse" cavalry encouraged a rout of panicky Union troops.

Verse 2  "three month boys" ... soldiers enlisted for 90 days.

Verse 2  "Varmount"  is the state of Vermont

Verse 2 "cat-a-mount" is short for cat-a-mountain. It could be any wild animal of the cat family, like a cougar or lynx.

Verse 5  "ten thousand in the race"  Federal General McDowell commanded a force of 18,000 men.

Verse 5 "two-forty pace" indicates high speed, covering a mile in two minutes and forty seconds