The Bonnie Blue Flag

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The Bonnie Blue Flag, also known as We Are a Band of Brothers, is an 1861 marching song associated with the Confederate States of America. The words were written by Ulster born Harry McCarthy, with the melody taken from The Irish Jaunting Car. The song's title refers to the unofficial first Flag of the Confederacy, the "Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star" of the chorus.

The first verse of the song goes:

"We are a band of brothers and native to the soil,

Fighting for our liberty with treasure, blood and toil;

And when our rights were threatened, the cry rose near and far,

Hurrah! for the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star.

The first line explains the song's alternate title. The second line is very often given as "fighting for the property we gained by honest toil", implying that the Confederate States fought to protect their right to slavery. These are not the original lyrics, however, and the line has been explained as an attempt at historical revisionism for political purposes.

Reference

[Lyrics and melody to the song], including a refutation of the alternate lyrics

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