I've wondered about the origins of this song. It didn't make sense to me that it was a Civil War song somehow, because of the "foreign money" and also the fact that it is so popular in Ireland. My thought was that it originated around the 1812 war, where British soldiers fought. But what about the town of Jackson. Everyone referred to Jackson, Mississippi, which was founded around the time of the Civil War, but I just read about the town of Jackson, Louisiana, which was founded in 1815, at the time of the War of 1812. What do you'll think???