Its not just Virginia Soil.  Remember Harry MacCarthy's Bonnie Blue Flag
which starts off:

WE ARE A BAND OF BROTHERS, NATIVE TO THE SOIL.......

One of many (more patriotic) versions of Dixie has the ringing phrase:

BY OUR FATHERS' PROUD EXAMPLE, SOUTHERN SOIL THEY SHALL NOT TRAMPLE!
TO ARMS!!!!!!

EM Thomson & JA Buttefield's "The South our Country", also c.a. 1861 told
us:

...AND WHOSE SOIL ALL UNTARNISHED BY SCEPTRE OR THRONE IS A HOME FOR THE
BRAVE AND THE FREE HEART ALONE.

JW Randolph painted a wonderful picture in his song "Virginia"

...YOUR SOIL IS INVADED BY TYRANTS AND KNAVES, YOUR FIELDS ONCE SO BRILLIANT
NOW GLOOMY WITH GRAVES.

Charlie Wildwood and John Hewitt in "The South" ...

...AND THESE THE BASE TYRANT WOULD CRUSH TO THE EARTH, AND MANGLE AND BRUISE
ON THE SOIL OF THEIR BIRTH.

You've got me tapping and humming the rest of the afternoon.   They just
don't write songs like they used to :))

Randy Cabell

----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard E. Dixon" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, February 18, 2002 11:20 AM
Subject: Re: Sacred soil of Virginia


> In a message dated 2/17/2002 10:09:40 AM Eastern Standard Time,
> [log in to unmask] writes:
>
> > In reading the letters and diaries of Union soldiers,  he has noted
> >  that, on crossing the Potomac for the first time, virtually all of them
> >  refer, sardonically or with bemusement, to "the sacred soil of
> >  Virginia."
> Jefferson Davis used this phrase in recounting how the Confederate Army
threw
> the Union from the sacred soil of Virginia at First Manassas.  The phrase
was
> included in his remarks without quotation marks which are used in later
> references by Union soldiers. It seems likely that the later comments are
> cynicism and perhaps come from Davis' comments being circulated in
northern
> papers.
>
> R. E. Dixon
>
> To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
> at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html

To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html