I hadn't heard of the song but I'll have to check out the links. I'm always looking for new Civil War music. The word "darkie' tends to show up alot in CW music, yes, but it shows up most predominately in African-American music and in the music of the minstrel shows. I believ the reason for it showing up in the minstrel shows was their penchant for using black face and co-opting slave music for their own uses. Have a great night all and keep singing, neil