"The Good Ole Rebel" - Song about Reconstruction

Your class was introduced to the Reconstruction of the South on Wed., 10/14, and Thurs., 10/15. Please click on the YouTube link below to listen to a song written by a former Confederate Army officer after the Civil War:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkZvNadzlik


Lyrics:


Oh, I’m a good old rebel, now that’s just what I am.
And for this Yankee nation I do not give a damn.
I’m glad I fought agin’ her, I only wish we’d won,
And I ain’t asked any pardon for anything I’ve done.

I hates the Yankee nation, and everything they do;
I hates the Declaration of Independence, too.
I hates the glorious Union, ‘tis dripping with our blood;
And I hates the striped banner – I fit [fought] it all I could.


I rode with Robert E. Lee for three years nearabout,
Got wounded in four places and I starved at Point Lookout.
I cotch [caught] the rheumatism a-campin’ in the snow,
But I killed a chance of Yankees, and I’d like to kill some mo’.

Three hundred thousand Yankees is stiff in Southern dust;
We got three hundred thousand before they conquered us.
They died of Southern fever, and Southern steel and shot;
And I wish they were three million instead of what we got.


I can’t take up my musket and fight ‘em now no more,
But I ain’t gonna love ‘em, now that is certain sure.
And I don’t want no pardon for what I was and am,
And I won’t be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.

Oh, I’m a good old rebel, now that’s just what I am.
And for this Yankee nation I do not give a damn.
I’m glad I fought agin’ [against] her, I only wish we’d won,
And I ain’t asked any pardon for anything I’ve done.



•“The Good Old Rebel” was very popular among former Confederate soldiers who disliked the Reconstruction policies of the federal government.

•Many of these former rebels headed west to Texas and Mexico to avoid Reconstruction.

•This song exemplifies the resistance and anger that many Southerners felt toward the policies of Reconstruction.

•Your task in the next few days is to determine why Reconstruction was so opposed in the South.

Questions


•What were three words or phrases that showed the attitude of the rebels in “The Good Old Rebel?”

•Identify three items that the song seems to dislike.

•Identify any events that seem to be significant to the song’s narrator.

Civil War Battlefield Medicine

As my classes saw on Friday, Oct. 9, standard medical procedures during the Civil War were much different than they are now. It's no wonder that the majority of war casualties wre caused not by bullets, but by disease!

Your assignment, due Mon., Oct. 19th, is to do the following:

1.) View the Document-Based Question titled "Medical Practices on the Civil War Battlefield", which can be found on the following website:

http://www.polk-fl.net/staff/teachers/tah/documents/turningpoints/documentquestions/d-Fields-CivilWarMedicine.pdf

This document is a .pdf file, so you will need Adobe Acrobat to download it. I will also upload it to my McKeel Academy webpage.

2.) Print the document.

3.) Answer all 18 discussion questions.

4.) Honors students - Write a well-organized 5-7 paragraph essay based on the following prompt:

"Historians refer to the era of the American Civil War as the “medical Middle Ages.” Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Using your prior knowledge and the primary documents that have been provided to you, write an essay that reflects your opinion. Be sure to include details from the documents that you have read and/or analyzed that led to your conclusion."

Directions for this assignment can be found on the first page of the DBQ assignment.

Welcome to the Wayward Whisker!!!

Finally!!!

After much consideration, consternation, and other big words, I have started my blog. I hope that this blog will prove to be a worthwhile use of your time as my student, and will help you to understand the world around you just a little deeper.

We will begin the Current Events articles very soon...

Warmest regards,
Mr. Fields