Battle Of Cedar Creek: A Song History

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The title names a Civil War battle. On October 19, 1864, near Middletown in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, Jubal Early's Confederates attacked before dawn and drove the Union troops from their camps, but Philip Sheridan rallied his men and turned the fight into a complete Confederate defeat.[1] The victory closed Sheridan's Valley Campaign and ended Confederate resistance in the valley. It also arrived only weeks ahead of the 1864 election and helped Lincoln win a second term.[1] None of the sources consulted here explains when the fiddle tune took the battle's name or who gave it.

Pencil sketch of General Sheridan galloping on horseback past cheering Union soldiers

Alfred R. Waud, “Sheridan’s Ride. Battle of Cedar Creek,” pencil drawing, inscribed October 19, 1864. Library of Congress. No known restrictions.

The tune itself is thinly documented. The Traditional Tune Archive carries an old-time AABB reel under this title, in a transcription by Paul Gitlitz, but gives no history or recordings.[2][3] The Slippery Hill archive hosts a 2008 recording by fiddler Jerry Correll, filed with its Virginia fiddling,[4] and John Lamancusa's Gettysburg Collection of Old-Time Fiddle Tunes credits its version to Howard Zane.[5] Even the key varies: the transcriptions are written in D, the Tune Archive's key field says A, and Correll plays it in C.[2][3][4][5] It is still recorded today; Miles Zurawell, for example, paired it with "Sandy River Belle" on his 2023 album Far Afield.[6]

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Sources

  1. National Park Service: "Battle of Cedar Creek".
  2. The Traditional Tune Archive: "Battle of Cedar Creek".
  3. The Traditional Tune Archive: "Annotation:Battle of Cedar Creek".
  4. Slippery Hill: "Battle Of Cedar Creek".
  5. John S. Lamancusa: "The Gettysburg Collection of Old-Time Fiddle Tunes" (3rd ed., table of contents).
  6. Miles Zurawell (Bandcamp): "Battle of Cedar Creek / Sandy River Belle".