We heard a Union Infantry Company marching to it on the Emmittsburg Road en route to the Gettysburg Battlefield during one of the big reenactments about 5 years ago. Although I believe that it is post Civil-War ("Farby", to use reenactor's jargon), it did make a very good, lusty marching or "cadence" song. It plays on and satirizes the military rank heirarchy, much like the WWI era "I Know Where 'E Is" Trench Song mentioned in an earlier thread.

It is common for these old marching songs to be implanted in Military Tradition and recycled over several wars. "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" apparantly served well in this capacity from the ACW (1861-5) through WW II.

Did your Mother serve in WW II? God Bless her; we owe those Patriots an awesome debt of gratitude, and they are "crossing over Jordan" now at a rate seemingly comparable to that which they crossed over the Atlantic & Pacific when beseiged Freedom called them.