Their
march, their accoutrements, and the whole arrangement of the troops,
furnished matter of amusement to the British army. The music played the
airs of two centuries ago; and the _tout ensemble_, upon the whole,
exhibited a sight to the wondering strangers to which they had been
unaccustomed."
Among the club of wits that belonged to the British army, there was a
Doctor Shackburg attached to the staff, who combined with his knowledge
of surgery the skill and talent of a musician. To please the new-comers,
he composed a tune, and, with much gravity, recommended it to the
officers as one of the most celebrated airs of martial music. The joke
took, to the no small amusement of the British. Brother Jonathan
exclaimed, it was "nation fine;" and in a few days, nothing was heard in
the provincial camp but the air of "Yankee Doodle."
Little did the author, in his composition, then suppose, that an air,
made for the purpose of levity and ridicule, should be marked for such
high destinies. In twenty years from that time, the national march--now
universally recognized by the patriots--inspired the heroes of Bunker's
Hill; and, in less than thirty, Lord Cornwallis and his army marched
into the American lines to the tune of "Yankee Doodle.
Pages:
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228