This is such a long and interesting thread. I may have missed it but I sing a couple of lines in the death bed scene that add to the confusion. Can't remember where I picked them up but it was over 40 years ago, before I was serious about studying the songs I sing. I believe they turned up in Australia.

They are:
"Put your hand unto my side
It's there you'll find a warrant
It's there you'll find my blood-red shirt
I die for Barb'ry Allen."

Warrant? What warrant? What does it say? Has the poor man been stabbed? In a duel? By his own hand? Was he not a wimp after all, but a wounded and bleeding man?
Sorry if I'm just covering old ground. Maybe these lines are quite common. Great discussion. Cheers, Joy