[Ads-l] Fw: Yankee Doodle, 1775

[Joel Berson]

An early quotation for “Yankee Doodle”, and some contemporaneous context for its passing from the British to the Americans.  I have not looked at John Picker’s article in Harvard's New Literary History of America, which JL called of uneven value in 2010, nor consulted other research.



In Peter Force, AmericanArchives: Fourth Series, Vol. 2 (Washington, October, 1839), “Account of anAttack on the Inhabitants of Massachusetts by the British Troops, Acting Underthe Orders of General Gage, on the 19th of April, 1775,” datelined “Worcester,Massachusetts, May 3, 1775,” pp. 488--490. This is by an anonymous Patriot; I hypothesizeit’s Isaiah Thomas, who had moved with his press to Worcester on April 16.  Page 488:  “During this time an express from the Troops was sent toGeneral Gage, who, thereupon, sent out a reinforcement of about fourteenhundred men, under the command of Earl Percy,with two field-pieces.*” 
"* When the Second Brigade marched out of Bostonto reinforce the First, nothing was played by the Fifes and Drums but YankeeDoodle, (which had become their favorite tune ever since that notableexploit, which did such honour to the Troops of Britain's King,of tarring and feathering a poor countryman in Boston, and parading withhim through the principal streets, under arms, with their bayonets fixed.) Upontheir return to Boston, one asked his brother officer how he liked thetune now? 'Damn them, (returned he,) they made us dance it till we were tired.'Since which Yankee Doodle sounds less sweet to their ears."  For “Yankee Doodle,” sense 1, the OED begins with thefollowing two quotations:  1768   Jrnl. of the Times(Boston) 29 Sept. in Lossing Pict. Field-bk. Revol. (1851) I.480   Those passing in boats observed great rejoicings, and that theYankee Doodle Song was the capital piece in the band of music. 1775   Pennsylvania Evening Post22 July 317/2   General Gage's troops are muchdispirited;..and..disposed to leave off dancing any more to the tune of YankeyDoodle.  The American Archivestext is a single quotation that calls attention to the transfer of “YankeeDoodle” to the Patriots from the British, which is implicit in the two separateOED quotations above. In 1768, the British rejoiced to it (I imagine the quotation refers to the arrival of British troops to start the occupation of Boston); in 1775, they becameindisposed to it. The American Archivesquotation is earlier than the OED’s quotation of 1775 July 22 and makes asimilar reference to disillusionment with dancing.    I wonder whether the AmericanArchives quotation could replace the PennsylvaniaEvening Post quotation.  Joel


   

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