MARMADUKE'S HORNPIPE

When asked who this tune was named for some Missouri fiddlers respond, “the Governor.” But which one? Confederate General John Sappington Marmaduke was elected governor of Missouri in 1884, but his father, Meredith Miles Marmaduke, a pro-Union man during the Civil War, served as governor of Missouri in 1844. The elder Marmaduke typefies the Virginia aristocrats who settled in Missouri's “Little Dixie” in the early 1800's and established most of the political and cultural institutions in the state. He was successful in the early Santa Fe trade in the 1820's and married a daughter of Dr. John Sappington of Arrow Rock, Mo., famous for his use of quinine to treat malarial fevers.

His son, John, was born on the family farm near Arrow Rock in 1833, attended Yale and Harvard and graduated from West Point. He served in the Seventh Cavalry and fought in the Mormon wars in Utah. Disagreeing with his father over the question of Missouri secession, he joined Gov. Claiborne Jackson's Missouri State Guard on the eve of the Civil War. When General Sterling Price and Gov. Jackson fled Jefferson City in June 1861 to muster secessionist volunteers, Marmaduke's Saline County company joined them at Boonville. Price left Marmaduke in charge of about 1,800 poorly armed and untrained men to face 1,900 well-trained and equipped Union soldiers under Gen. Nathaniel Lyon who were steaming up the Missouri River in hot pursuit. Marmaduke knew his men were no match, but Gov. Jackson insisted that Marmaduke make a stand and the Battle of Boonville was fought just east of the town. The battle is also called the "Boonville Races” because of the haste with which the state militia took flight. Marmaduke angrily resigned his State Militia commission over this incident and joined the regular Confederate army, serving with distinction at the battle of Shiloh. He later assumed command of Arkansas General Thomas Hindman's cavalry and led several successful cavalry raids into Missouri. He joined Price on his final disastrous raid through Missouri in the fall of 1864 and was captured during the retreat from the Battle of Westport. Hornpipes are popular among Missouri fiddlers and are named for an obsolete wind instrument from the Middle Ages as well as a popular dance associated with sailors. Modern fiddlers play these tunes at a fast tempo without some of the slower-paced ornamentation from earlier days. “Marmaduke's Hornpipe,” is similar in melody to the tunes “Cricket on the Hearth,” “Rocky Mountain Goat,” and “Hell Among the Yearlings,” played elsewhere in the u.S. Howard “Rusty” Marshall, who renders his spirited version of this song on our recording, published a study of the song in the Missouri Folklore Society Journal, 1991-92.