NY researcher: "Yankee Doodle" turns 250 - maybe
Wish "Yankee Doodle" a happy 250th birthday. Maybe.
The original lyrics to one of America's best-known songs, one associated with the American Revolution, were actually written a couple decades earlier during the French and Indian War, although an exact date has eluded historians. Some peg the year as 1755, when the war's first major battles were fought, or 1756.
The other year often cited is 1758. Now, a state archaeologist believes he has narrowed down the date to sometime in June of that year, when a large British-led army was mustering at Albany for an expedition against the French.
Dr. Richard Shuckburgh, a British army physician, is credited with penning the "Yankee Doodle" lyrics to mock the ragtag New England militia serving alongside the redcoats. As the story goes, Shuckburgh wrote "Yankee Doodle" while at Fort Crailo, across the Hudson River from Albany, after witnessing the sloppy drill and appearance of Connecticut troops.
Shuckburgh's own correspondence and other contemporary documents support the June 1758 date, according to Paul Huey of the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
"The chronology is entirely consistent with the tradition that he was at Crailo in 1758," he said.
Read entire article at AP
The original lyrics to one of America's best-known songs, one associated with the American Revolution, were actually written a couple decades earlier during the French and Indian War, although an exact date has eluded historians. Some peg the year as 1755, when the war's first major battles were fought, or 1756.
The other year often cited is 1758. Now, a state archaeologist believes he has narrowed down the date to sometime in June of that year, when a large British-led army was mustering at Albany for an expedition against the French.
Dr. Richard Shuckburgh, a British army physician, is credited with penning the "Yankee Doodle" lyrics to mock the ragtag New England militia serving alongside the redcoats. As the story goes, Shuckburgh wrote "Yankee Doodle" while at Fort Crailo, across the Hudson River from Albany, after witnessing the sloppy drill and appearance of Connecticut troops.
Shuckburgh's own correspondence and other contemporary documents support the June 1758 date, according to Paul Huey of the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
"The chronology is entirely consistent with the tradition that he was at Crailo in 1758," he said.