Pvt. John Dinkins, Co.C, 18th Mississippi Volunteer Infantry, described the march toward Sharpsburg in September of 1862, of McLaw's Division, which included Co. I, 2nd South Carolina Volunteer Infantry. Dinkins recalled, "The men moved along at a lively gait. As night came on, we sang all kinds of plantation songs, 'Rock the Cradle, Julie', 'Sallie, Get Your Hoecake Done', 'I'm Gwying Down the Newburg Road', and so on. The men ... moved along the road. The woods rang with their melodies."

Written by Joel Sweeney and published by Firth & Pond in 1840, in his memoir, Pvt. Dinkins remembered it as ‘Sallie”, rather than ‘Jenny’. Whichever name is used, the song clearly shows the influence of the African rhythms of plantation life. It is easy to imagine a column of dusty, grey-clad Mississippians swinging along a Maryland road to the cadences of this song. It was this vivid scene that inspired us to produce our third and most successful album, “Southern Soldier”.

What IS a hoecake, you may be wondering. “A hoecake, or Johnny-cake, was made of corn meal, water and salt cooked in a greased (usually with fat back) skillet. It was a quick and filling, if somewhat bland, foodstuff, but had the advantage of being extremely portable and could be prepared and cooked virtually anywhere with the rudest of utensils. The hoecake was a staple food of the 18th and 19th century traveler. It is traditionally held that 'hoecakes' were so-called because they actually at one time were cooked on hoes. The implements used in cotton fields were large and flat, and when the handle was removed and the hoe washed it made an excellent skillet. Cotton field workers would prepare hoecakes for the noon meal.”