Civil
War Ballads
Caleb
Fiske Harris Collection on the Civil War and Slavery
About the Collection
In
his maturity, Harris collected in three areas: the literature of
The
Civil War collection includes over seven hundred ballads issued during the war.
Ballads had long been used to circulate accounts of maritime disasters,
earthquakes, fires, executions and other events of public interest. According
to E.L. Rudolph, author of Confederate
Broadside Verse, in 1861 printers both north and south exploited the street
ballad to the utmost as a means of propaganda and profit. Ballads were written
and sung by Confederate and
Author and librarian Edwin
Wolf (American Song Sheets) notes
that by 1850, a fad in American life produced a shower of song sheets, slip ballads,
and poetical broadsides. Songs of topical interest began to appear with greater
frequency. Their popularity peaked during the Civil War and inspired poetry,
verse and doggerel. The war stimulated an already active music industry and
sheets flowed from the presses. Northern publishers A.W. Auner and J.H. Johnson,
of
Ballads were just as
important in the Confederate States even though most were issued without any
imprint and without the benefit of the commercial appeals made by Gay, Johnson,
Magnus and Wrigley. The Confederacy
simply did not have the printing houses, the paper or the publishers the
Although an exact number
does not exist, Irwin Silber has allegedly
gone through some 10,000 songs through library and personal manuscript
collections, aged songster, old newspapers, folk song collections, and
regimental histories. The ballads presented here represent a small collection
of published material and provide but a fraction of the number of songs that
were sung by Americans in the Civil War.
“songs, however imperfect,
either as literature or popular poetry, are the most genuine expression of
feelings and thoughts which have filled…hearts and minds, and have a
genuineness which inform the rude or inadequate words, and are a most important
illustration of the history of that tremendous conflict.” (Former editor of the
Providence Journal and Civil War
veteran Alfred M. Williams).
northern
Verses Southern Ballads
Dixie, Where is Dixie?; Our Union, Right or
Wrong; Root Yank or Die!; Stand By the Union
Many war-inspired songs
were sung on both sides, often with a slight change of lyric. The shared elements
of music did not lessen the hostility of the opposing forces. In his second
inaugural address, President Lincoln said, “Both read the same Bible and pray
to the same God, and each invokes his aid against the other…The prayers of both
could not be answered” (Moseley, Journal
of Popular Culture 48).
However, there are notable
differences emphasized in the lyrics of the ballads of the opposing sides. A noticeable theme that sets the Northern
ballads apart from those of the South is a dedication to preserving the
Southern verse was often rural
in nature, which can be seen in the poetic description of the land and the
fruits of its soil in “
Recruitment
The Debt; I
Have Enlisted for the Army, My Name is “Bob’; I Want to be a Soldier; Yankee
Volunteer
The
war saw large numbers of ballads produced as recruitment propaganda and moral
boosting songs on both sides, including “We are coming father Abraham,” rapidly
written in response to Abraham Lincoln’s call to arms in 1862. Most successful
on the Union side was “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” written by Julia Ward
Howe in 1862, using an existing tune that had been used as a hymn and soldier’s
song.
Some
ballads were written to give a personal touch to the propaganda. “I Want to be
a Soldier” uses simple language to give incentives to fight. It names prominent
figures such as Confederate president Jefferson Davis and General P.G.T.
Beauregard, and singles out “traitors” as targets for violence. This was used as a means to rally recruits
who shared a common desire for vengeance.
“The
Yankee Volunteer” and “I Have Enlisted” show two men more than willing to
provide for the war effort. “The Yankee Volunteer” offers his service to fight
while his father can provide food for the troops from his farm. His sister and
brother are also both eager to serve even though they are not able to enlist.
“I Have Enlisted” is the story of “Bob” who escaped a trade, being bound “to a
dirty Snob” to fight his “way to glory.”
Marching
Songs
Marching Along No. 1 ; Marching Through
Many of the ballads
written were marching songs sung in unison by the troops to boost morale and to
keep the troops in line. “Marching Along” is a hymn-like marching song written
by William B. Bradbury and was one of the favorites of the Union Army.
Quartermaster Bingham of the First South Carolina Black Volunteer Regiment is
reported to have taught the song to his troops, although the phrase “Gird on
the armor” (Silber, 12) was difficult
for them to pronounce and was changed by the soldiers to “Guide on de army.”
George F. Root wrote the
words and music to “Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!” in 1863, when many Northern families
were wondering about the fate of soldiers incarcerated in a prison camp. The
song was an instantaneous success and was quickly picked up by the troops,
among whom it became a favorite marching song.
Recollecting
Events
Fort Sumptor A Southern
Song No. 2; Only Nine Miles to the Junction; The Retreat of the Grand Army from
Bull Run; Sherman’s March to the Sea; The Slain at Baltimore
Ballads were used to tell
stories. During the war, the news function of balladry was still very much
alive. In rural areas, mountaineers and farmers still fashioned crude narrative
songs out of the military events of the day. In the cities, the stall-ballad or
broadside writers frequently “scooped” newspapers with the details of an
important event and used poetry to embellish tragedies such as floods, murders,
and pitched battles with a high degree of personalized fiction (Williams,
267-268).
Many of the ballad writers
never stepped foot on a battlefield. The songs written by soldiers describing
their engagements, incidents of camp and march, or their feelings, were not
many, either in folk ballads or finished poetry. The only recollection of events presented here
that was written by a soldier was “Only Nine Miles to the Junction.” It was
written during the early days of the war by H. Millard, a member of Company A,
Seventy-First Regiment, concerning the March from
The Bonnie Blue Flag; The Confederate Flag, Red, White &
Blue; The Flag of Our Union; The Flag of Secession; Freedom’s Banner; The Stars
and Bars; The Stars and Stripes; We’ll Follow the Flag
The
Star Spangled Banner had a profound influence on earlier generations’
appreciation of the American flag’s value as an inspiring and unifying national
symbol. The Civil War expanded and intensified that patriotic attachment to the
flag and fostered a spirit of reverence and devotion that would endure for
generations. It became the primary icon of national identity and ideals,
infused with meanings and memories from all sides of the conflict. Northerners
saw the flag as a sacred emblem of the cause to defend the
North
and South set their own words the anthem. There was a Southern “Battle Cry of
Freedom,” and a Northern “Bonnie Blue Flag.” They shared a musical idiom, but
they had quite different ideas of “freedom” and “liberty,” as did blacks and
whites. “The Stars and Bars” declare the superiority of the Confederate flag to
that of the
Avoiding
the Draft and Opposition to the War
The Copperheads; How to Close the War; I Am Not Sick, I’m Over Forty Five; Johnny, Fill Up the Bowl; My God! What is this All For?
As the war dragged on,
demanding greater and greater sacrifices, the feeling of universal enthusiasm
gave way to discouragement. Elements of bitterness, most evident in
The Copperheads were a
vocal group of Democrats from the North who opposed the war and wanted an
immediate peace settlement with the Confederates. Republicans started calling
them “copperheads” in reference to a poisonous snake. These democrats accepted
the label but for them it meant the likeness of
Mortality
Dear Mother, I’ve Come
Home to Die; The Dying Confederate’s Last Words; The Dying Soldier
The Civil War was bloodier
than any other conflict in American history. The number of soldiers who died
between 1861 and 1865 is approximately equal to American fatalities in every
war up to the Korean War combined. The significance of death to the Civil War
generation changed, as it violated prevailing assumptions about life’s proper
end; who should die, when and where, and under what circumstances.
Death was no longer
encountered individually; mortality rates were so high that nearly every
American family was touched. Its threat, proximity, and its actuality became
the most widely shared of experiences. This shared suffering would override
persisting differences about the meaning of race, citizenship, and nationhood
to establish sacrifice and its memorialization as the common ground on which
North and South would ultimately unite. The ballads presented here illuminate
soldiers’ contemplations on the reality of death. They share a common theme of
departure from this world with no regret for their struggle. “The Dying
Soldier” is “a martyr to freedom, to justice and truth!”
Representations
and Attitudes Toward Blacks
Anti-Slavery Hymn; The
Big Nigger; Kingdom Coming; Niggers in Convention. Sumner’s Speech; The Poor
Old Slave; The Southern Wagon; Uncle Ned; Uncle Snow
All of these songs were
written by and for white people and the attitudes expressed therein are those
of whites. The persona may be black but the true voice is white. These ballads
tell us more about the white writers and the white audiences whom they
addressed than about slaves or free blacks. The idealism and spirituality in
“Anti-Slavery Hymn” expresses the wish for the nation to reject a way of life
that was abominable, yet had been economically beneficial for centuries. Prejudice
was evident in ballads from both the North and the South, although the latter
presented a less lighthearted and more disdainful tone (Moseley, American Music 2). Although the “The
Southern Wagon” does not mention slavery, the blank receipt printed on the back
reveals a reality widely accepted. It is presented here to illuminate how
common and informal the trade was.
The ballads show no
fondness expressed for blacks; the only affection is between slaves, or the
slaves affection for his master. The portrayal of blacks conveyed in
nineteenth-century song are as confused and ambivalent as were the attitudes of
Americans of that period.
The ballad “Niggers in
Convention, Sumner’s Speech” pokes fun at
Opposition to President Lincoln
Lines on the Proclamation Issued by the Tyrant
Abraham
Lincoln is perhaps the most popular, most widely quoted, and influential
president in American history. He was also extremely controversial while in
office. Hostility to Lincoln during the war was expressed by the people of the
Confederacy and a sizable number of those in the southern border states; his
political opposition, primarily the Democratic Party in the North and in the
border states, including a number of conservative Whigs; and the anti-slavery
radicals, including elements both within and outside the Republican Party.
The
ballad “Nobody Hurt” echoes the tradition of critical response stemming from
the statements of politicians. The author, John Ross Dix, a native of
The Confederate
Soldier’s Wife Parting From Her Husband!; Just After the Battle; Just Before
the Battle, Mother; Parody on When This
Cruel War is Over; To the Soldier’s Sister; When This Cruel War is Over
Many of the ballads express
the grief and anguish of separation felt by the soldiers and their loved ones.
Both the North and the South produced a large number of sentimental poetry that
was somber and patriotic. They were written from a soldier’s point of view
expressing pain and sadness on the battlefield to mothers and wives at home.
The perspective of the soldiers’ loved ones was shown with words that expressed
a longing for their sons and husbands to return.
George F. Root’s
successful “Just Before the Battle, Mother” produced a sequel, “Just After the
Battle.” This was common with Root who was never one to let a good song go
unrepeated. He said he wrote the sequel because many felt that the first one had
been too sad, and that this was an attempt to give a more hopeful message.
Also known as “Weeping Sad
and Lonely,” “When This Cruel War Is Over” was so popular and tugged so
strongly at the emotions of the common soldier, North and South, that officers
had to forbid its singing in the Camp. Its popularity influenced a parody attempting
to render it in stereotypical Irish brogue and imagery. It also inspired
Stephen Foster’s acclaimed “When This Dreadful War Is Ended” (Silber, 115-123).
The Irish Volunteers;
The Isish Brigade [sic]; Meagher is Leading the Irish Brigade; To the Irish Brigade
Thomas Francis Meagher was a
member of the 69th New York State Militia. This ninety-day regiment first saw
action at First Bull Run, under the command of Colonel Michael Corcoran. The
colonel was captured and spent more than a year in a Confederate prison. When
the ninety-day enlistment expired, Captain Meagher returned, with his regiment
to
After his return, Meagher
raised the Irish Brigade, which were volunteers serving for a term of three
years. This unit would eventually become the 63rd, 69th and 88th New York
Voluntary Infantry Regiments. Meagher was appointed brigadier general and took
command of the Irish Brigade on February 5, 1862. Throughout its life in the Army of the
Bards were instantly inspired
to sing the praises of the regiment and its commander, and ballads were written
exactly reproducing the style and language of Irish ballads. There were similar
elements of primitive verse, gleams of humor, and explosions of vigorous
spirit (Wolf, v).
Rhode
Island’s Role in the War
The Brave Volunteers of
Rhode Island; The Hero of Rhode Island; Honor to Rhode Island Men; Richmond’s
Song for the Times
William Sprague IV was
Governor of Rhode Island from 1860-1863. As the Civil War approached, Sprague
promised the president the support of
Dyer’s Compendium. http://www.civil-war.net/searchstates.asp?searchstates=Rhode%20Island
Moseley, Caroline. “Irrepressible Conflict.” Differences Between Northern and Southern Songs of the Civil War. Journal of Popular Culture, 25.2 (1991): 45-56.
Silber, Irwin. Songs of the
Civil War.
Thomas, Benjamin P., Abraham Lincoln: A Biography (1952) Southern Illinois University Press paperback edition, 2008.
Williams, Alfred M. "Folk-Songs of the Civil War". The Journal of American Folklore, 5.19 (1892): 265-283.
Wolf, Edwin 2nd. American Song
Sheets Slip Ballads and Poetical Broadsides.