Annotation:Rose Division

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X:1 % T:Rose Division M:C| L:1/8 D:Rounder 0024, Hollow Rock String Band (1974) Z:Transcribed by Andy Kuntz K:C cd|e2G2e2ed|c2ae ga g2|GABc dedB|c2ae ga g2| e2G2e2ed|c2ae ga g2|GABc dedB|1[Gc]c2[Gc] [G2c2]cd:|2 [Gc]c2[Gc] [G2c2]g2|| a2b2c'2c'g|a2g/a/g edcA|GABc dedB|cdcA G2 g2| a2b2c'2c'g|a2g/a/g edcA|GABc dedB|1[Gc]c2[Gc] [G2c2]cd:|2 [Gc]c2[Gc] [G2c2]g2||

ROSE DIVISION. AKA - "Rowe's Division," "Row's Division." Old-Time, Breakdown. USA, North Carolina. C Major (Brody, Krassen): B Flat Major (Phillips). Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. Most 'revival' musicians learned the tune from a 1974 recording by the Hollow Rock String Band, although the band credits their version of the tune to fiddler John Lewis of Walnut Cove, Stokes County, northwest North Carolina [see also Lewis's "Isom Waltz"). Fennig's All-Star Band describes the melody as "an old fife and drum march," but does not elaborate, and further information is needed to substantiate the assertion. It is possible, although not in any way substantiated, that the title refers to the Confederate army division of Major General Robert Emmett Rodes, who commanded it at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. It was one of the first units on the field. There seems to be a strong "folk processing" desire to consolidate the suggested association with the general, as the name "Rodes' Division" for the reel is gaining currency, but there is no evidence to support the connection.

Additional notes

Source for notated version: - Alan Jabbour via Dave Milefsky [Krassen]; Bill Christopherson and Tom Phillips [Phillips].

Printed sources : - Brody (Fiddler’s Fakebook), 1983; p. 234. Krassen (Appalachian Fiddle), 1973; p. 77. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 2), 1995; p. 221 (appears as "Rowe's Division").

Recorded sources: - Front Hall FHR-024, Fennig's All-Star String Band - "Fennigmania" (1981. Learned from fiddler Bill Hinckley). Old Blue OB 703, New North Carolina Ramblers - "Cotton Mill Blues" (2007). Rounder 0024, "Hollow Rock String Band" (1974. Learned from John Lewis of Walnut Cove, North Carolina).

See also listing at:
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [1]
Hear the Hollow Rock String Band's 1974 recording at Slippery Hill [2]
See John Lamancusa's standard notation transcription (in the key of 'D') [3]