Confederate Veteran, Vol. 4

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Excerpt from Confederate Veteran, Vol. 4: January, 1896 Songs of the Confederacy By Daniel Bond, of Nashville, Tenn. "When falls the soldier brave Dead at the feet of wrong, The poet sings - and guards his grave With Sentinels of Song. 'Go Songs, ' - he gives command - Keep faithful watch and true: The living and dead of the Conquered Land Have now no guards save you.' 'And ballads! Mark ye well. Thrice holy is your trust, Go out to the fields where warriors fell. And sentinel their dust.'" The recent Southern tour of the old man. Daniel Emmett, the author and composer of "Dixie, " and his warm reception, shows how fixed in the hearts of its people is the simple old tune. As the seasons roll by, and the memories of the fierce struggle for four years to repel an invading force fade out from the minds of the old and the recital of battles and sieges are interesting to the young only as matters of history, this tune - which inspired the Rebel yell at Manassas - is as fresh to-day as it was on that memorable Sabbath morning thirty-four years ago. Every Southerner feels the pulse-beat quicken and the heart thrill with emotion whenever and wherever he hears the air. And so will it be until the end of time. It is but an illustration of the powerful influence upon a people of a song born of sentiment. Fletcher of Saltoun, a wise man himself, said that he knew a very wise man who believed that if a man were permitted to make all the ballads he need not care who should make the laws of a country. The songs of the Hebrews, breathing adoration to the great Jehovah, the God of Israel: the Iliad of Homer, with its struggle of Greek and Trojan, are monuments that inspired generations to deeds of devotion and arms far more effective than all the texts of the law givers. The Song of the Niebelungen - with its legend of Siegfried of Chrimhild, and Brunhield - is responsible for much of the literature as well as the martial spirit of the German. Who will deny that the ballads concerning King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, those heroes of the ancient romances - lion-hearted in combat with worthy foes, mild and gentle towards woman - had its effect upon that great race, made up of Dane, of Saxon and of Norman, and their descendants, the brave and tender Cavaliers who settled this South land. The Robin Hood ballads, commemorative of that bold man's deeds, and his struggle against the domineering aristocracy of the Normans, kept the spirit of liberty alive in the land, carrying its sentiment through centuries, influencing the heart of the nation, and finding fruition at Runnymede and Naseby - the heritage of the English speaking race. Yes, indeed, song and ballad have had their share in the history of all peoples. Dear were they to the followers of Cromwell in the struggle with Charles. The ecstacy with which the "Scots who hae wi' Wallace bled" is received by the Scotchman of to-day, the wild enthusiasm of the Frenchman under the strains of the Marseillaise - sometimes, during exciting periods, aroused to such a pitch as to cause an interdiction of its music by the legal authorities - prove that sentiment and not reason rules. While the Irishman steps off gaily in his march to the "Wearing of the Green, " let a rival band strike up the "Battle of the Boyne, " and a fight is on at once. Whenever the Englishman hears "God Save the Queen, " he raises his hat, and the German will ever add his voice to the song of the "Watch on the Rhine." The heart and not the mind governs. The tune "Dixie." endeared to us first by victory and af