Yankee Doodle
On a rainy night in 1755, a troop of militia from Norwich, Connecticut was marching
through Albany, New York. They wore scruffy appearing hunting shirts and rifle
frocks, as were commonly worn by farmers of the time. The wife of the unit commander,
in an attempt to spruce up their appearance, placed a turkey feather in each of
the men's caps. A surgeon in the British Army observed the group with interest.
His name was Major Richard Schuckburgh.
At
the time, Britain had been extending her empire overseas and had begun to import
many new and different products from many countries. Coffee came from Burma and,
although England had long been a tea-drinking nation, it became popular among
the younger set. Coffee houses sprung up in London and other towns and young gentleman
of the period began to frequent them. Under a strong Italian influence, these
men effected outrageous appearance for the time, wearing gigantic hats with brightly
colored ostrich feathers sprouting from them. Their clothing was typically of
silk, often dyed in pastel colors, and they were referred to by the public at
large as "dandies." Another Italian influence was the importation of many forms
of pasta, which was collectively described as "macaroni." Dandies were also known
of as "macaronis."
In Holland during 17th century,
the name "Jahn" was fairly common. Things evolved so that the Dutch
word, "jahnke," took on a general meaning similar to what we would now
call a "guy" or a male person. The term, "yankee," was later applied
throughout the American colonies to someone who was thought to be a tinker, a
deceiver or a thief. A "doodle" was a fool. With this in mind, Col. Schuckburgh
set about his work of making fun of his American allies. He took a tune that can
be dated back at least to 17th century Holland and set new words to it:
Yankee
Doodle came to town,
Riding
on a pony.
Stuck
a feather in his cap, and
Called
it macaroni.
Yankee
Doodle, keep it up.
Yankee
Doodle dandy.
Mind
the music and the step, and
With
the girls be handy.
The song was gleefully
sung by British troops to deride the American soldiers, who were considered to
be grossly inferior to the British Regulars, throughout the Seven Years War and
much of the American Revolution. However, at some point, it changed sides and
became our song, proudly sung by Americans ever since. It was played on the fife
and drum at the British surrender at Yorktown. It is said that the British played
World Turned Upside Down.
It was first published
by the New York Journal on October 13, 1768.
Either
version is appropriate for Civil War period units.
For American Revolution
or 1812, the "ancient version" would be a better choice.
© E.W.Boyle, 2002