Charley,
I would be interested to know whether the folks you last mentioned had presented the song "as a chantey." The Nye (1954) and Warner (1961) renditions seem to be presented as "a song of the Civil War" -- which is of course not mutually exclusive, but does make some difference in who might sing / consume their music. When, I wonder, did people first start re-singing it in the framework as a chantey? Critic's Group chantey form came in 1970.