"The Bonnie Blue Flag" was written by Harry MaCarthy (1834-1888) and sung to the old Irish tune "The Irish Jaunting Car". The song lays out the order of secession of the States that went on to form the Confederacy. The first flag of the Confederacy was a single white star on a blue background. This song, especially popular in the South during the early years of the war, counts out the eleven seceding states one by one. MaCarthy was an English-born vaudeville entertainer who immigrated to the United States in 1849 and settled in Arkansas. He billed himself the "Arkansas Comedian" and traveled widely throughout the South in company with his wife, Lottie, putting on "personation concerts." These performances featured MaCarthy singing in the dialect of other cultures, dancing to ethnic-sounding music, and dressing in flamboyant costumes. Stephen Currie, in Music in the Civil War, reports that one of MaCarthy's traveling companions during the war years was a cockatoo who had been trained to squawk "Three cheers for Jeff Davis!" on stage. It was recorded by Tennessee Ernie Ford on his album Tennessee Ernie Ford Sings Civil War Songs of the South which is where I learned it. Other Civil War era songs in this collection are: "Dixie" "The Faded Coat of Blue" "Goober Peas" (in the American Songs section) "Just Before the Battle, Mother" "Lorena" "Marching Through Georgia" "Union Dixie" "The Vacant Chair" "The Year of Jubilo"