Twa Recruitin' Sargeants.... the recruiting sergeant was the army equivalent of the naval "press gang". They operated in rural areas, enticing the less secure members of the community into army service. Once the young man had accepted the "King's Shilling" (whether he was sober enough to remember or not), he was listed as being in the army and treated as such.
They operated from the early 1700's to mid 1800's, but were most active between 1770 and 1815 drafting cannon fodder for the wars firstly in America, then against Napoleon in the Low Countries, Spain and Portugal, then latterly Belgium and France.
Other songs of the same ilk are; The Collier Recruit, & Over the Hils and Far Away, both featured heavily in the ITV TV series (PBS USA) "Sharpe" Starring Sean Bean.
Calach/Ian.