agreed Art! I guess that as a writer of songs, one is normally more interested in the message than the 'envelope' so if a historical song is the means to deliver your message (anti-war, anti-English rule, anti-slavery, anti-Lincoln, pro-union, etc) then the historical 'facts' become less important than they would be to a consciencious historian - but, as you point out, some historians have used the historical facts to purvey their particular message. This is far more troubling! I have no problem accepting that Roddy McCorley may or may not have been the pure hero as he is portrayed in the song, I love the song, and accept its sentiment. But I do highly resent my children's text books being written by people who care more about book sales than they do facts!