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The 11th Pennsylvane
Jack Hardy
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As we set out that fateful morn
From erie in the rain
Down to harrisburg by rail
Upwards of a thousand strong
The one-eleventh pennsylvane
For many was the first time on a train
In harrisburg received our colors
Received our enfield guns
Then continued on to baltimore
Where they drilled us into soldiers
Drilled us into men
Drilled us in the stock and trade of war
And oh, what i did not know
What i did not know
We grew up as neighbors
We grew up as friends
My cousin casper kingsbury and i
He taught me how to hunt and shoot
And i was proud as pie
When they made him a lieutenant in our line
When we finally got our marching orders
We gave out a shout
Though the feathered hats they gave us looked like hell
When we crossed the susquehanna
Casper let his fall
We all laughed and threw ours in as well
And oh, what i did not know
What i did not know
We disembarked in Harper's Ferry
In a general alarm
They deployed us in the heights above the town
We waited for old Johnny Reb
Though Johnny never came
A more disappointed lot was never found
But the enemy now was cold and fever
Dysentery and lice
And gambling and vice i'd never dreamed
But our only fear in that year
Was that the war would end
Without a battle even being seen
And oh, what i did not know
What i did not know
We never saw antietam creek
Nor marched in sharpsburg town
Our fight was in the field between the woods
And every foot we gained that morn
By blood and sweat and toil
Was swept away by the texans under hood
While generals and journalists
Argue victory or defeat
The private with his spade begins to dig
And nowhere near a thousand strong
The one-eleventh pennsylvane
Now our dreams they did not seem so big
And oh, what i did not know
What i did not know
We made our camp near chancellorsville
And huddled near the fire
Heating up our hardtack and our beans
Our guns were stacked when stonewall jackson
Took us by surprise
By being where stonewall jackson could not be
And then we fought but we were caught
By an enfilading fire
An unexploded shell crashed through our lines
And chest and limbs and unsung hymns
And god almighty's ire
My cousin casper kingsbury lay dying
And oh, what i did not know
What i did not know
Gettysburg and lookout mountain
Missionary ridge
They recite them as a litany or a prayer
But my heart was gone, i sang no songs
The one-eleventh trudged along
I fought those battles as though i was not there
To second-guess the generals
Though a private never can
But i'm thinking that this war cannot be won
My brothers and my sister
Oh how they stare
Now that my fighting days are done
And oh, what i did not know
What i did not know
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