SW008 ’Bard of the South’ Sings of Seminole Wars

Come to a Florida Wars battle re-enactment or living history event commemorating events of the Second Seminole War and you are likely to hear a balladeer singing Songs of the Seminole War. This is not unusual as the Second Seminole War lends itself especially to meaningful musical interpretation through songs. But this singer departs from convention. Although he is a white, southern, country-and-folk musician, Rickey Pittman assumes the perspective of the Seminole in the songs he co-wrote and recorded with the late Jed Marum. Our guest guides us through the meaning behind their song themes, such as the Battle of Okeechobee, and historical characters, such as the Seminoles' Osceola and Abiaka, and the Dade Battle survivor, soldier Ransom Clark.

Rickey E. Pittman, the "Bard of the South", is a storyteller, author, and folksinger. He was the Grand Prize Winner of the 1998 Ernest Hemingway Short Story Competition. Rickey Pittman presents his stories, music and programs at schools, libraries, organizations, museums, historical reenactments, restaurants, banquets, and Celtic festivals throughout the South. An adjunct college English instructor with an M.A. from Abilene Christian University, Rickey has fourteen published books, four music CDs and several single releases. You can find out more about him at his website: www.bardofthesouth.com (Performance photo of Rickey Pittman and Jed Marum by Heather Burney)

Host Patrick Swan is a board member with the Seminole Wars Foundation. He is a combat veteran and of the U.S. Army, serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Kosovo, and at the Pentagon after 9/11. A military historian, he holds masters degrees in Public History, Communication, and Homeland Security, and is a graduate of the US Army War College with an advanced degree in strategic studies. This podcast is recorded at the homestead of the Seminole Wars Foundation in Bushnell, Florida. 

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