'Sawdust War' ballad

     A relic of the "Sawdust War" which indicated the rather carefree spirit of the most serious dispute is a ballad which, had great popularity in Eau Claire and Madison saloons.
     It appears to have been first sung by members of Madison's Lake City Guard.
     
     

"The Sawdust Campaign"

Oh, I'm a Lake City guard, sir,
I belong to Company C,
Of the gallant Fourth battalion
Of the Wisconsin National G.

On glory I was bent, sir,
For fighting I did pant;
So, to Eau Claire I was sent, sir,
The strikers to supplant.

My buttons there were right, sir;
And loaded twenty rounds,
My belt was far from light, sir,
As I stept to martial sounds.

The strikers we did meet, sir,
On the bans of the Eau Claire;
We fought them long and well, sir,
Despite our villainous fare.

The sawdust campaign is o'er, sir,
The rioters we foiled,
And we've been ordered home, sir,
With uniforms all soiled.

Oh, war it is most cruel, sir,
Specially a sawmill scare,
But we are always ready, sir,
To go again to Eau Claire."

Extracted from the Eau Claire Leader Telegram
Special Publication, Our Story 'The Chippewa Valley and Beyond', published 1976
Used with permission.