Annotation:Hull's Victory (1)
Tune properties and standard notation
HULL'S VICTORY [1] (Buaid Mic Uill). New England; Hornpipe and reel. USA; Maine, New Hampshire, New York. F Major (Brody, Burchenal, Cole, Ford, Linscott, Miller & Perron, Phillips, Sweet, White): D Major (O'Neill, Shaw, Sweet). Standard tuning (fiddle). One part (Burchenal): AABB (most versions): AA'BB (Phillips). This title commemorates Hull's victory off the coast of Nova Scotia in the War of 1812. An American hero, Captain Isaac Hull was commander of the frigate USS Constitution ('Old Ironsides'), which engaged the British frigate HMS Guerriere under Captain Richard Dacre in fierce combat in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, about 750 miles out of Boston. The battle lasted 55 minutes and left 101 dead. With the Guerriere dismasted and smashed beyond salvage, Captain Dacre struck his colors and surrendered to Hull's boarding party. The Constitution, heavier and more solidly built, suffered little damage and only 14 casualties. The impact of the clash, however, was to shock the British Admiralty and hearten America and the fledgling American Navy in the dark days of the War of 1812.
The melody is similar to an old English drinking song and a Scottish dance tune, according to Bronner (1987), and started life as a ballad, though soon entered enduring popular tradition as a dance tune, which he maintains is one of the earliest contra dance melodies composed in America. Paul Wells, of the Center for Popular Music/Middle Tennessee State University, has found an untitled version in a fife manuscript begun in 1807 (which may or may not date the tune, which may have been entered later). It can be found in Elias Howe's 1842 Musician's Companion, Part 1. Burchenal (1918) prints a New England contra dance of the same name as the tune, and Linscott (1939) confirms both the tune and dance's popularity in the region. The title appears in a list of traditional Ozark Mountain fiddle tunes compiled by musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph, published in 1954. The title appears in a list of Maine fiddler Mellie Dunham's repertoire and was recorded by him in the 1920's or early 1930's (see "Hull's Victory (2)"). The elderly Dunham was Henry Ford's champion fiddler in the late 1920's.
There is a New England dance of the same name, to which this tune was the accompaniment, that travelled far beyond the orders of the region. Lloyd Shaw, in his book Cowboy Dances (1943), writes:
It would shock my New England friends to hear an old Colorado Rancher ask me if I ever danced Hell's Victory. From his description I was sure of the dance and told him it was Hull's Victory, not Hell's- Hull's Victory with his famous ship The Constitution. "No, no!" he says, "it's Hell's Victory! Called it that ever since I was a boy!"
Source for notated version: Willie Woodward (Bristol, N.H.) [Linscott, 1939].
Printed sources: Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; p. 137. Bronner (Old Time Music Makers of New York State), 1987. Burchenal (American Country Dances, Vol. 1), 1918; p. 30. Cole (1000 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; p. 103. Ford (Traditional Music of America), 1940; p. 74. Linscott (Folk Songs of Old New England), 1939; p. 97. Miller & Perron (New England Fiddler's Repertoire), 1983; No. 140. O'Neill (Krassen), 1976; pg. 198. O'Neill (1850), 1903; No. 1702, p. 316. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 1), 1994; p. 115. Ryan's Mammoth Collection, 1883; p. 140. Shaw (Cowboy Dances), 1943; pg. 388. Sweet (Fifer's Delight), 1964/1981; p. 80 (two versions). White's Unique Collection, 1896; No. 110, p. 20.
Recorded sources: Alcazar Dance Series FR 203, Rodney and Randy Miller- "New England Chestnuts, Vol. I" (1980). Jonathan Edwards Memorial Foundation JEMF-105, Mellie Dunham's Orchestra - "New England Traditional Fiddling" (1978). Kicking Mule 216, Strathspey- "New England Contra Dance Music."