Greetings. In 1801 a soldier of the 11th Hussars was on trial at Wakefield for the murder of a man he assaulted for mocking him as he sang a regimental song with a verse or chorus that ended: "Success to the Regiment, and God save the King." That's all that's recorded of the song. The odd thing is that the fragment resembles a song dating from ten or so years later- 'Sahagun' chronicling the exploits of another regiment, the 15th Hussars, at the village of that name during a near disastrous campaign in Spain 1808-09. The last line of the last verse is: 'Success to the Fifteenth; and 'God Save the King' My question is, do we have record of a generic soldier's drinking song from the late C18th on which both songs might have been based? Many thanks.
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