The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #84092 Message #1550681
Posted By: Dave Ruch
26-Aug-05 - 09:28 PM
Thread Name: Lyr Add: The Battle of Queenston (War of 1812)
Subject: RE: The Battle of Queenstown (War of 1812)
Thanks Q. I just looked at the American Memory version, and it's completely different.
The version I found is typed out in a 1940's letter from the City Historian of Batavia NY to the Buffalo (NY) & Erie County Historical Society; sort of a "here's one for your files". The text is taken from Burton Stevenson's book "Poems of American History", page 292 according to this letter.
What struck my fancy was that the writer of the 1940's letter pursued the song lyrics after his colleague mentioned hearing his paternal grandmother sing a doleful ditty, concerning "when brave Van Rensselaer cross'd the stream", lines of which the colleague could recite but not sing.