Use Restrictions

Public Domain. There are no known restrictions.

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions.

Preferred Citation

"Bull Run. Tune - 'Wait for the Wagon'" Confederate broadside, C0434, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Purchased by Lynn Eaton from David M. Lesser, Fine Antiquarian Books in 2023.

Processing Information

Processing completed by Meghan Glasbrenner in June 2024. Finding aid completed by Meghan Glasbrenner in July 2024.

Historical Information

The First Battle of Bull Run, also known as the First Battle of Manassas, was the first major battle of the American Civil War. Fought on July 21, 1861 in Virginia, the battle was ultimately won by the Confederates, led by General Pierre G.T. Beauregard. Union forces, led by Brigadier General Irvin McDowell, attempted numerous tactics to overtake the Confederates, but to no avail. Defeated, the Union army left Manassas for Washington, D.C., which led many to conclude that the war they were fighting was far from over, and provided the Confederate army with what historians view as an ultimately misguided confidence in their ease of victory over Union forces.

Broadsides (also known as "broadside ballads") were an inexpensive format of mass publication consisting of a single printed sheet, usually single-sided, containing song lyrics that were often topical in nature and meant to document or comment on current events. As such, broadsides were particularly popular in the United States during the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Civil War, many containing lyrics that documented events with humor, often satirically. Broadside ballads contained no musical notation and were intended to be sung to existing melodies, such as the 1850s folk song "Wait for the Wagon" which was popular with both Union and Confederate broadside ballads.

Scope and Content

Broadside ballad titled "Bull Run. Tune - 'Wait for the Wagon'" containing the lyrics to a Confederate song laughing at the Union defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861 in Virginia.

Arrangement

This is a single item collection.

Related Material

The Special Collections Research Center holds other Civil War collections , including Letter from Corporal Francis Ronien of the 2nd Rhode Island Infantry to his brother Henry .

The Library of Congress' digital collections include a similar item , as well as a large collection of American Song Sheets .

The New York State Library holds the Broadside Ballads Collection and The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts holds the American broadsides collection .

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Broadsides -- 1850-1870
• Bull Run, 1st Battle of, Va., 1861
• Confederate States of America
• United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
• United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Songs and music