This was written by Harry McCarthy, an Irishman who was an entertainer in his adopted home in the South. He wrote the words to celebrate South Carolina's secession from the Union in early 1861. South Carolina had adopted a flag which was blue with one white star. For a short time it was the flag of the Confederacy. McCarthy set his song to the tune of The Irish Jaunting Car. It was sung to soldiers at New Orleans and became an instant hit. It was one of a couple of "unofficial anthems" of the Confederate States of America. By the way, the "property" mentioned in the first verse is slaves. Later versions of this song changed the word to "liberty," to be less obvious and support the notion that the war was about states' rights.

Lyrics

We are a band of brothers and native to the soil,
Fighting for the property we gained by honest toil.
And when our rights were threatened the cry rose near and far,
Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star!

Chorus:
Hurrah, hurrah, for Southern rights hurrah!
Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star.

As long as the Union was faithful to her trust,
Like friends, and like brothers, we were kind and we were just.
But now when Northern tyranny attempts our rights to mar,
We raise on high the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star.

First gallant South Carolina nobly made the stand,
Then came Alabama, and took her by the hand,
Next, quickly, Mississippi, Georgia, and Florida,
All raised on high the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star.