Patriotic Rumors…(concluded) |
or, an Inspirational Story, and How It Has Grown… |
The whole bit about
the drummer freezing and the commander (Col. Barrett, one presumes)
calling upon the bystanders for assistance also rings false. Sensible
bystanders weren’t standing very nearby, nor would the military
types have welcomed their proximity nor solicited their help in what
aspired to be, after all, a professional military operation.
Wouldn’t the offending drummer face a firing squad for cowardice
in the face of the enemy? Or how might they punish the commander for
his bizarre behavior? Doesn’t sound like any other account of the
occasion that I’ve seen, and accounts survive in bewildering
abundance and variety.
I’ve looked, moreover, and haven’t yet found any evidence (beyond Browne’s stirring narrative) that Arch Willard had Joe Munroe in mind when, a hundred years later, he painted the famous Ancient Drummer-boy. His fellow-Masons report that Willard, Senior (Archibald’s father) was the final model of two who sat for the likeness. Both father and son were anxious to “do something special” for the Centennial and succeeded far beyond any reasonable expectation. Art experts have always pooh-poohed the “Spirit of ‘76” (originally titled, “Yankee Doodle”), as little more than a cartoon, not serious art. Well and good. Would the experts kindly name a piece of serious art that has ever been received instantaneously and durably into the public heart, as has this embodiment of Willard’s patriotism? The painting, like the Corporal Joe story, captures something of what we all wish we were. Especially when we forget to be critical and sophisticated. Or, for that matter, historically truthful. |
Back a Page (How the Story Grew) |
This
Section: Carlisle |
Page Index Homesteads Ancestors |
[StoryGrew2.htm] Updated Jul 2020 |
Next Page (Nathan) |
Page 20 |
Welcome | Stories | Sections | Such a Life | People | Places | Site Search | Do You Know? |