Keith, while the phrase has been used in a number of books and articles, the sourcing on this phrase is quite haphazard and may have possibly been built error upon error. Some attribute the phrase to Lane, without saying what their source is. Others attribute it to Lane, and cite mid-20th century secondary sources. In 1955, Monaghan's "Civil War on the Western Border" utilized the phrase and attributed it to Lane, but did not provide a source. This book seems to be ground zero for most subsequent writers citing the phrase, and saying Lane was its original speaker. There is always going to be a problem with an unsourced statement made in a book published almost a century after the utterance of the original statement.

Moving a step beyond Monaghan, another source, Brownlee's "Gray Ghosts of the Confederacy," states that Margaret Leech's "Reveille In Washington 1860-1865," published 1945, references the phrase and says Lane was its original speaker. I don't have access to the original 1945 book, but I'm not finding the phrase in the 2011 reprint. Maybe I'm missing something. Nonetheless, a secondary source dated 1945 attributing the phrase to Lane still is problematic in that it is over 80 years after the fact.

Benedict, in "Jayhawkers: the Civil War Brigade of James H. Lane," cites modern books by Castel and Goodrich, attributes the phrase to Lane, and then proceeds to discuss his own review of Castel and Goodrich's primary sources. Upon that review of what he refers to as the primary source for the phrase, Benedict says the phrase first appeared in an 1870 magazine article by Verres Nicholas Smith who used a pen name of Jacob Stringfellow. I would disagree that the 1870 magazine article is a primary source. I believe the 1870 magazine article is probably more properly referred to as a secondary source. However you English majors can correct me and I won't argue with you.

However....there's another problem in saying the first appearance of the phrase was in 1870, since there is an even earlier reference, one from 1865. And this source says the words came from Jennison. Not Lane. "The Latter Day Saints Millennial Star Volume XXVII" was published in London England in 1865 and quoted a speech that it says Jennison made in August 1863. This book cited as its source a story in the London Times. The entire fairly lengthy quote in the book is over 200 words long, and states, in part, "...I put the Negro on the top and the traitor underneath. Everything disloyal, from a Shanghai chicken to a Durham cow, must be cleaned out. Adopt this policy and there will be no more Copperheads in Kansas...."

Now, you might say, what authority does an English newspaper and a Mormon book published in England have in solving the mystery by crediting the phrase to Jennison? And I would respond by saying, it has plenty of authority, since it is the closest in time to the utterance yet found, and it uses the phrase in question.

But with the Latter Day Saints book published in London England, we are still utilizing a secondary source and are still at least two steps from the primary source. Now if someone could find the original London Times article, and tell us what it says its source is, and then go to that source, then you will have your mystery solved. I suspect the London Times story would have been quoting from a story written contemporaneously to the speech.

When I have time, I'll transcribe the entire quote so it can be compared to the versions attributed to Lane. However, to make a short story long, right now the pendulum seems to be swinging towards Jennison as the originator of the phrase. In any event, you future authors out there should take care in attributing the words to Lane, at least until the final steps are taken in finding the primary source.... Right now, as things stand, I would lean towards attributing Jennison with an explanatory in a footnote.

One final note here--in addition to the issue of Jennison/Lane, the exact turn of phrase seems to alternate from "Shanghai chicken" to "Shanghai rooster," depending upon the book. This might be important when utilizing key word databases. (With the earliest source found thus far using the word chicken).