Come, all you sons of Ioway

voiceCollected by M. Mitchell Transcribed by Mary C. Parler Mr. Noah Mills Lampia, Mo. Sept. 11, 1950 Reel 73, Item 4 The Battle of Prairie Grove Come, all you sons of Ioway And listen to my song, If you'll just lend attention I'll not detain you long, 'Tis of the gallant charges We made at Prairie Grove, There against Rebel forces All our numbers strove. Our officers being brave, They led us with good will, With volley after volley We made our shots to tell, Although we were outnumbered We charged them up the hill, Till our brave lieutenant-colonel And major-general fell. Through bloody fields we waded Where cannons loud did roar, And many a brave commander Lie bleeding in his gore, And heaps of mingled soldiers Were mingled in the way, Who were killed and wounded By the Nineteenth Ioway. They fought us very bravely In hopes to gain the day Until Blunt's noble artillery On them began to play, It gave them such a hazard It put them all to flight, And they withdrew their forces By the coverings of the night. Next morning we were sorry To see those Rebel's wives Hunting their dead husbands, Such melancholy prize, And sisters finding brothers They wrang their hands and cried Saying, Oh, dear bloody brother For the Southern right you've died. -more- Battle of Prairie Grove Reel 73, Item 4 Continued But now the war is over, The soldiers rest from toil, We bury our dead in order Beneath the Southern soil, We buried our dead in order And formed a desparade (?) With a board to each man's head To show where he was laid.Funding for digitization provided by the Arkansas Humanities Council and the Happy Hollow Foundation