"Jim along Josie"...

[Morrow7x]

One of the many Google searches I did after reading an ancestor's letters...

This passage led me down a musical side track:

"...The sickness in camp is what thins the ranks. You would be much interested (writing to his father, a doctor) in seeing the sick winding their way every morning when the sick call is sounded. Drooping over, hands in their pockets, with long faces the "sick and lazy" march to the surgeon's tent at the time of "Jim along a Josy"...."

 

[lupaglupa]

I wonder what the origin of the phrase was? Thanks for sharing this!

 

[Morrow7x]

IIRC 'Jim along' was a dialect substitute for 'Get along' or 'move along' used in a popular minstrel song.

 

[Claude Bauer]

One of the many Google searches I did after reading an ancestor's letters...

This passage led me down a musical side track:

"...The sickness in camp is what thins the ranks. You would be much interested (writing to his father, a doctor) in seeing the sick winding their way every morning when the sick call is sounded. Drooping over, hands in their pockets, with long faces the "sick and lazy" march to the surgeon's tent at the time of "Jim along a Josy"...."

Very interesting! Appreciate you posting that. It's not often you see a reference to what happens when soldiers hear a camp duty call.

It's not clear though what is meant by "march to the surgeon's tent at the time of "Jim along a Josy" Maybe I'm missing something, but if "at the time of" is referring to the tempo of the song, they would have been moving at a very lively pace, which seems odd for those answering Surgeon's or Doctor's Call.

By the way, the Surgeon's or Doctor's Call for fife and drum sounded like this during the Civil War. Upon hearing this call, with "long faces," the "sick and lazy" would begin their march to the surgeon's tent: https://fieldmusicschool.org/calls_audio/DoctorsCall.m4a

 

[Morrow7x]

Very interesting! Appreciate you posting that. It's not often you see a reference to what happens when soldiers hear a camp duty call.

It's not clear though what is meant by "march to the surgeon's tent at the time of "Jim along a Josy" Maybe I'm missing something, but if "at the time of" is referring to the tempo of the song, they would have been moving at a very lively pace, which seems odd for those answering Surgeon's or Doctor's Call.

By this way, the Surgeon's or Doctor's Call for fife and drum sounded like this during the Civil War. Upon hearing this call, with "long faces," the "sick and lazy" would begin their march to the surgeon's tent: https://fieldmusicschool.org/calls_audio/DoctorsCall.m4a

Ha! I was thinking the same thing. Maybe he was parroting something clever that he heard. There is also the variable of the transcription...Hard to say... The tune does have kind of a 'limping' rhythm to my ears. ;-)

Drifting off the music topic, but I always find the images in the next passages compelling:

"Many of our boys were at first inclined to make sport of them as they slowly passed by every day. One in particular would laugh and cry out "There go the sick men!" I told him he might some day dance to the same tune. He little feared it strong and rugged as he was. But yesterday on our little march from camp here he fell out of the ranks and had not come up this morning at roll call. Being sick on the march especially is to be dreaded by soldiers. Up to a few days ago our regiment had the usual number of ambulances- 2, but now we have 4 and that number is none too many. There are always more applicants than can be accommodated, and on such a hard lot falls. Many a poor soldier's heart has sunk within as he lay by the roadside, refused a ride and unable to keep along with his regiment and often with his division to say nothing of his brigade. I have seen a stout hearted man weep as after every exertion had failed he left the ranks, leaned his musket against the fence and lay down, only to see his company, the surgeons, and regiment after regiment pass on, careless of "stragglers". Let Edward or Albert be "piled up" in a fence corner down among the hills of Tenn, and if he doesn't wish himself a farmer at home with plenty to eat and plenty of friends I will give you my hat and come home on furlough! There is no fun in war!"

 

[lupaglupa]

I have seen notes on records saying "Left behind at.." and I always feel bad for the guy. Sick, alone, in uncertain territory. Not a great situation at all.