[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 15 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 15

 Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding the primary author and 
                the official home of ``Yankee Doodle''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 19, 1999

 Mr. McNulty submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
             referred to the Committee on Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding the primary author and 
                the official home of ``Yankee Doodle''.

Whereas the song ``Yankee Doodle'' is a humorous and patriotic ditty that dates 
        back to America's colonial period;
Whereas ``Yankee Doodle'' was popular from its inception, spreading throughout 
        New England and the Middle Atlantic States, where it was sung at 
        parades, in taverns, and beside campfires;
Whereas the British soldiers, known as Redcoats, picked up the tune at the 
        beginning of the American Revolution as a means of deriding the rag-tag 
        Continental Army;
Whereas, after the Battle of Lexington, ``Yankee Doodle'' became an anthem and a 
        source of pride among the rough-hewn Americans who were taking on the 
        polished British Redcoats;
Whereas, while the tune of ``Yankee Doodle'' originated in Europe as a common 
        air, many claims as to the authorship of the lyrics have been made;
Whereas, despite the other claims, Dr. Richard Shuckburgh, a British Army 
        surgeon who served on America's frontier for most of his adult life, is 
        today generally considered to be the primary author of the lyrics to 
        ``Yankee Doodle''; and
Whereas Dr. Shuckburgh is believed to have written almost all, if not all, of 
        the lyrics for ``Yankee Doodle'' at Fort Crailo in the city of 
        Rensselaer, New York, after viewing the provincial forces gathered there 
        in the 1750s for an attack on Fort Ticonderoga: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of the Congress that--
            (1) Dr. Richard Shuckburgh should be recognized and honored 
        as the primary author of ``Yankee Doodle''; and
            (2) Fort Crailo in the present-day city of Rensselaer, New 
        York, should be recognized as the ``Home of Yankee Doodle''.
                                 <all>