A parody of the popular tune "Wait for the Wagon," the version given here was one of many that circulated throughout the South during the War. Verses were often added or dropped to reflect shifting political/military situations.
As did many songs composed early in the War, this one deals with the Confederate triumph at the Battle of First Manassas. It also lionizes General P.G.T. Beauregard, the hero of Fort Sumter and the acknowledged victor at Manassas. That Beauregard was very much the darling of the Southern public is evidenced by his being included in the same verse as President Jefferson Davis and Vice President Alexander Stephens.
The Seward referred to in verse 5 is William Seward, Abraham Lincoln's Secretary of State. Scott is General Winfield Scott, the hero of the War of 1812 and the Mexican War, who had been General in Chief of the Army since 1841 and was directing Union operations at the beginning of the War. McDowell is Irving McDowell, the Union general who was defeated at First Manassas.
