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The Great Peshtigo Forest Fire

from Song of Wisconsin by Jerry Way

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about

After the war, the soldiers went home to their families, very glad the war was over.

In 1871, just five years after the Civil War ended, Wisconsin was struck by the worst natural disaster in state history: The Great Peshtigo Forest Fire.

The summer and fall of 1871 were extremely dry, and many small fires broke out in the forests of northeastern Wisconsin. Then, on the night of October 8th, the entire region erupted in flame. The fire destroyed lumber town Peshtigo and several villages. About 1,200 persons were killed and 1,250,000 acres of trees were destroyed in the Great Peshtigo Forest Fire.

lyrics

THE GREAT PESHTIGO FOREST FIRE

The summer and the autumn of 1871,
The woods became like tinder drying in the sun.
For northeast Wisconsin in the forest ‘round Green Bay
The 8th of October was a most fateful day.

REFRAIN:
Fire! Fire, burning in the night,
The forest filled with fright,
Her creatures all in flight.
Fire! Fire, an eerie flaming light,
An awful fearsome sight,
The Great Peshtigo Forest Fire!

The heat was like a furnace, and blasting in the wind,
It roared on through the brush piles where the pine trees had been thinned.
As great sheets of fire came falling from the sky,
The lumber town of Peshtigo was not prepared to die. (repeat REFRAIN)

Folks headed for the river, with burning all around.
The heat and smoke were blinding, they were falling to the ground.
One thousand two hundred lost their lives that tragic day.
A million acres, ashes on both sides of Green Bay. (repeat REFRAIN)

The county called Kewaunee, and Door County, too,
The river called Oconto felt the fire rumble through.
From Birch Creek to Marinette, to Little Suamico,
The land was scorched to ashes, as it was in Peshtigo. (repeat REFRAIN)

credits

from Song of Wisconsin, released February 2, 2021
words, music, vocal & guitar: Jerry Way

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Jerry Way Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin

I've been composing, performing and teaching music for a fair number of years now. I love the pictures that words and music can paint in a person's imagination, while hearing a good song; A guitar is a fine companion for story-sharing. Music is a life-long journey, so the younger we start enjoying it, the better. I'm proud to pass my songs along to new generations. ... more

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