First referred to as “Miss MacLeod’s Reel” by a foreigner visiting Connacht, Ireland, in 1779, who wrote about taking part in a dance where the prize was a cake, or possibly heard as one of several pieces played by pipers in Galway. Either way, the tune stuck and became better known as simply “McLeod’s Reel.” It was especially popular with the Scottish and Irish colonial settlers of the North Carolina-Appalachian Mountain regions. By the mid-19th century, the growth in popularity of the tune had made it a staple anywhere reels were danced. Often called the original Virginia Reel, it is commonly performed at Colonial and Civil War reenactment venues as well as in modern dance ensembles.

During the War Between the States, there were seasons where active campaign operations were impossible due to poor weather conditions – late fall, winter, and early spring, primarily. Many thousands of men in both armies would find themselves confined to large, muddy camps with little to do. Overcoming boredom became one of their biggest challenges. Music in camp often provided much welcome relief, regardless which side one was on. Here, the words of two Confederate private soldiers explain:

PVT. DAVID HOLT, of Co. K, 18th Mississippi, wrote in his post-war account in December of 1862:
“Co. K had one violinist and five fiddlers, and we made use of them by inaugurating dances . . . Owing to ladies not being anywhere about, men substituted and were so designated by having a handkerchief tied around their arms. With a big bonfire at each end of the company street, we used the space between for our dance hall.”
Further, during December of 1863, he wrote: “At short intervals, there would be a concert of classical music . . . I particularly liked selections from Beethoven’s Mass in C, and Meyerbeer’s opera of the Huguenots. The fine music seemed to renew one’s hold on the amenities . . . of civilized life. It lifted us above the grime and the grind of our condition, out of the discord of war and into the harmony and peace of God.”

Thomas D. Cockrell and Michael B. Ballard, A Mississippi Rebel in the Army of Northern Virginia: The Civil War Memoirs of Private David Holt (Baton Rouge, 1995).

PVT. TALLY SIMPSON, of the 3rd South Carolina Volunteer Infantry, wrote to his sister in March of 1863:
“The minstrels are carrying the day. They perform excellently and afford intense amusement.” In writing to his mother nine days later he observed, “Tis said that Kershaw’s is the finest minstrel band in these parts, and I am inclined to believe it.”

Guy R. Everson and Edward H. Simpson, Far, Far from Home: The Wartime Letters of Dick and Tally Simpson, 3rd South Carolina Volunteers (New York, 1994).