Annotation:General Armstrong's Troop
X:1 T:General Armstrong's Troop C:Charles P.F. O'Hara M:3/8 L:1/8 B:Charles P.F. O'Hara - "The Gentleman's Musical Repository" (New York, 1813, p. 4) K:D B|AA/B/A/G/ |FAd|f>gf/g/|f2e|dAF|agf|ee/f/e/f/|e/g/f/e/d/c/| dAF|ADF|Bc'd'|a2 g|fad |eac|ddd|d2:| |:(f/g/)|a/b/a/g/f/e/|fad|g>ag/f/|ecA| FAd|caB|A>BA/B/|TA2 (A/G/)| FAd|ceg|fac'|d'c'b|ad'f|gfe|ddd|d2:| |:B|AAA|AAA|Agf|gfe|fff|fff|fba|gfe| AAA|AAA|Agf|gfe|fff|fff|fbg|gfe|| aaa|AAA|bbb|BBB|d'c'b|agf|eef/e/g/|Tf2e| dAF|Adf|ac'd'|a>ba/g/|fad|eac|ddd|d2||
GENERAL ARMSTRONG'S TROOP. American, March (3/8 time). D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABBCD. "General Armstrong's Troop" was composed by Charles P.F. O'Hara, whose title honors John Armstrong Jr. (1758-1843), whose military experience led him to be placed in charge of the defenses of the City of New York at the start of the War of 1812. In 1813 he was named the Secretary of War under the fourth President of the United States, James Madison but he was forced to resign the next year after the British burned Washington and the Americans were defeated at the Battle of Bladensburg. Historian Henry Adams (1838-1918) wrote of him:
In spite of Armstrong's services, abilities, and experience, something in his character always created distrust. He had every advantage of education, social and political connection, ability and self-confidence; he was only fifty-four years old, which was also the age of Monroe; but he suffered from the reputation of indolence and intrigue. So strong was the prejudice against him that he obtained only eighteen votes against fifteen in the Senate on his confirmation; and while the two senators from Virginia did not vote at all, the two from Kentucky voted in the negative. Under such circumstances, nothing but military success of the first order could secure a fair field for Monroe's rival.
