Verse
The cannoneers are slumbering on the hillside, the eastern sky is bright with dawning day;
When, springing gaily from his clover pillow, the bugler sounds the stirring reveille.
Awake! Awake! The God of day is rising, the trembling dewdrops sparkle in each ray;
The distant picket’s rifle gives a warning, the "Fifth" must strike for liberty today!
Chorus
Hurrah! Hurrah! We struggle for the right,
From hill to hill resounding, the battle cry is sounding.
Hurrah! Hurrah! We’re ready for the fight!
A grave or victory!
Now when the deadly struggle rages wildest, where shell and shrapnel burst amid the roar;
Our good "Napoleons" bellow forth in anger and drop the fierce invaders by the
score.
Again! Again! For God and Louisiana, ram home the charge with energy of hate,
Now give them our swift canister for Mumford, and - every gun - for Order
Twenty-Eight!
Dear Louisiana! By thy waters weeping, insulted women watch with tearful eyes;
From ruined homes and desecrated altars, a cry for vengeance gathers to the sky.
On every field our gallant boys are sleeping, their blood hath flown our liberties to
save;
And, drop for drop, we’ll force it from the foeman or dying, sweetly sleep in
Freedom’s grave!
Penned by C.E. McCarty on July 15th, 1864 in Atlanta, Georgia, the title of the song is
indeed "Song of the Fifth" and is subtitled "Written for the 5th Company -
Washington
Artillery". The song may be sung to the melody of "Cheer, Boys,
Cheer!"
The references to "Mumford" and
"Order Twenty-Eight" are references to the actions of
Federal General Benjamin Butler. Federal Admiral Farragut and his Marines raised
the Federal flag over the New Orleans branch of the United States Mint, taking possession
of the city of New Orleans. Five days later, General Benjamin Butler marched into
New
Orleans to rule the city under martial law. Butler would rule the city for the next
eight
months.
Many citizens of lower Louisiana openly displayed their contempt for the Federal troops, the Federal occupation of their land, and Butler himself. Their resentment stemmed not only from the fact that a foreign invader had taken over their native land, but to Butler's orders
regarding treating the Federal flag with respect; his orders requiring the citizenry to show courtesy and deference to Federal troops; and his prohibition of their even singing songs deemed "treasonable" by the Federals.
William Mumford, a New Orleanian, showed his contempt for the Federal occupation troops
by entering the New Orleans branch of the United States Mint and lowering the Federal flag.
For that offense, Butler had Mumford hanged.
As a result of the contempt with which Federal officers and sodiers were treated by the
ladies of New Orleans in particular, Benjamin Butler was to issue "Order Twenty-Eight",
an order that earned him the nickname "Beast" Butler from P.G.T. Beauregard, and soon
all other Southrons. The order read as follows:
As the officers and soldiers of the United States have been subject to repeated insult from the women (calling themselves ladies) of New Orleans, in return for the most scrupulous
non-interference and courtesy on our part, it is ordered that hereafter when any female shall,
by word, gesture, or movement, insult or show contempt for any officer or soldier of the United
States, she shall be regarded and held liable to be treated as a woman of the town plying her
avocation.
In other words, the ladies of New Orleans who failed to treat the Federal officers or soldiers
as gentleman would find that, not only was their good name as "ladies" forfeit, but they were to
be treated as common prostitutes.
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