Bonnie Blue Flag



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Confederate soldiers sang to boost morale, focus on war goals, or remind them of home. One of the most popular Confederate songs was “Bonnie Blue Flag,” sung to an old Irish folk melody. The song was written by Harry McCarthy and first introduced in the spring of 1861. The lyrics about the Bonnie Blue Flag refer to an early flag used by Southerners that included the blue field of the American flag but with a single star to represent South Carolina, the first state to secede from the Union. The song talks about the secession of each of the rest of the states that then formed the Confederacy.

"The Bonnie Blue Flag", lyrics by H. McCarthy, melody "The Irish Jaunting Car", arr. and performed by Wayne Erbsen, from Ballads and Songs of the Civil War (Cat.# Native Ground Music NG-CD-004) (c)1999 Fracas Music Co. (BMI) (p)1994 Native Ground Music. Courtesy of Native Ground Music www.nativeground.com. All rights reserved.

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Civil War, American

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