Songs I Love To Play: Ben McCulloch (Steve Earle Cover)

Benjamin McCulloch was a career soldier who fought in the Texas Revolution and the Mexican-American War. He ended up a brigadier general with the Confederate States Army in the US Civil War. He was killed at the Battle Of Elkhorn Tavern outside of Fayetteville, Arkanasas on March 7th, 1862 at the age of 50. McCulloch's death is widely viewed as the turning point in the battle, in which the Confederacy ultimately withdrew.

Steve Earle wrote this song about McCulloch for his 1995 album Train A Comin'. The song is written from the point of view of a foot soldier who signs up to fight with McCulloch, but who later deserts just before the final battle as he is disillusioned not only with McCulloch, but with the reasons for the war he is fighting. A nice bit of historic storytelling from Earle, who is one of America's finest songwriters.

I have played this song at several live shows since I first learned it in 2016. It remains apart of my setlist, and it goes over quite well, despite not being an immediately familiar song.

We signed up in San Antone, my brother Paul and me
To fight with Ben McCulloch and the Texas infantry
Well the poster said we'd get a uniform and seven bucks a week
The best rations in the army and a rifle we could keep

When I first laid eyes on the general I knew he was a fightin' man
He was every inch a soldier, every word was his command
Well his eyes were cold as the lead and steel forged into tools of war
He took the lives of many and the souls of many more

Well they marched us to Missouri and we hardly stopped for rest
And then he made this speech and said, "We're comin' to the test"
Well we've got to take Saint Louie boys before the Yankees do
If we control the Mississippi then the Federals are through

Well they told us that our enemy would all be dressed in blue
Well they forgot about the winter's cold and the cursed fever too
My brother died at Wilson's Creek and Lord I seen him fall
We fell back to the Boston Mountains in the north of Arkansas

Goddamn you Ben McCulloch
I hate you more than any other man alive
And when you die you'll be a foot soldier just like me
In the Devil's infantry

And on the way to Fayetteville we cursed McCulloch's name
And mourned the dead that we'd left behind and we was carrying the lame
I killed a boy the other night who'd never even shaved
I don't even know what I'm fightin' for, I ain't never owned a slave

So I snuck out of camp
And then I heard the news next night
The Yankees won the battle
And McCulloch lost his life

Goddamn you Ben McCulloch
I hate you more than any other man alive
And when you die you'll be a foot soldier just like me
In the Devil's infantry

© Steve Earle