Something for a Veteran’s Day weekend. The Army of the Free, one of the more rousing of the Civil War songs, set to the tune of The Wearing of the Green.   It is sung by the immortal Tennessee Ernie Ford, who, like so many natives of The Volunteer State, had ancestors who fought on both sides of the War.
And here is another rendition, sung by Bobby Horton, who has waged a one man crusade to bring the music of the Civil War to modern audiences.
Army of the Free
In the army of the Union, we are marching in the van,
And will do the work before us, if the bravest soldiers can;
We will drive the Rebel forces from their strongholds to the sea,
And will live and die together in the Army of the Free. Â
     Army of the Free,    Â
The Army of the Free, Â Â Â Â
We will live and die together    Â
in the Army of the Free.
We may rust beneath inaction, we may sink beneath disease
The summer sun may scorch us or the winter’s blast may freeze,
But whatever may befall us, we will let the Rebels see,
The unconquered we shall remain the Army of the Free,
    The Army of the Free,    Â
The Army of the Free, Â Â Â Â
Unconquered we shall remain    Â
The Army of the Free.
We are the best division of a half a million souls,
And only resting on our arms till the war cry onward rolls;
When our gallant General Porter calls, why ready we shall be,
To follow him forever with the Army of the Free,
    The Army of the Free,    Â
The Army of the Free, Â Â Â Â
We will follow him forever    Â
With the Army of the Free.
We have Butterfield the daring and we’ve Martindale the cool,
Where could we learn the art of war within a better school,
Add Morel to the list of names, and we must all agree,
We have the finest Generals in the Army of the Free,
    The Army of the Free,    Â
The Army of the Free, Â Â Â Â
We have the finest Generals    Â
In the Army of the Free.
Though we live in winter quarters now, we’re waiting but the hour,
When Porter’s brave division shall go forth in all its power,
And when on the field of battle, fighting we shall be,
We’ll show that we cannot disgrace the Army of the Free,
    The Army of the Free,    Â
The Army of the Free, Â Â Â Â
We’ll show that we cannot disgrace    Â
The Army of the Free,
Then hurrah for our division, may it soon be called to go,
To add its strength to those who have advanced to meet the foe;
God bless it, for we know right well, wherever it may be,
‘Twill never fail to honor our great    Â
Army of the Free,
    The Army of the Free,    Â
The Army of the Free, Â Â Â Â
‘Twill never fail to honor our great    Â
Army of the Free.
Hi Don:
Great post once more highlighting something I knew very little about. I marvel at your encyclopedic knowledge and, above all, your eagerness to share it in a very interesting way with your readers through the use of video clips. Thanks,
Peter
Thank you Pete!