Civil war era tunes

[jaco]

After watching the Ken Burns Civil War Documentary, I've become interested in the music of this era. From a musicological perspective what would be some of the most important music from this era in yur opinion. Not necesarrily most popular, but defining music of this period. Seems like a good theme for a musical project for someone.

[John Flynn]

There are whole websites on this. The Conteplator site lists these as defining CW tunes, even though some were written much earlier, but it is certainly not a complete list:

Battle Hymn of the Republic
Bonnie Blue Flag
Darling Nelly Gray
Dear Evelina, Sweet Evelina
Dixie
The Drinking Gourd
Garry Owen
The Girl I Left Behind Me
John Brown's Body
The Sword of Bunker Hill
Tenting Tonight
Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!
The Vacant Chair
When Johnny Comes Marching Home

I would add off the top of my head:
Soldier's Joy
Kingdom Coming (The Year of Jubilo)
Cumberland Gap
Johnny's Gone for a Soldier

[Red Englemann]

These songs come to mind.

Year of Jubilo
The Girl I left Behind
Battle Hymn of the Republic
Soldiers Joy
Gerry Ownes
Battle Cry of Freedom
Cumberland Gap

red


Red

[Richard Russell]

Local libraries most likely will have some recordings that will give you a nice start. They may even have some books on the subject. Jay Ungar and Molly Mason (jayandmolly.com) offer their own recording of these songs and also offer the soundtrack to Ken Burns' Documentary. Jay, of course, wrote Ashokan Farewell which is played throughout the program.

[allenhopkins]

I do a fair number of Civ War music programs; here are ones I've used:
Lots of George Root's music; he was one of the premier Northern composers
Just Before the Battle, Mother
Battle Cry of Freedom
Tramp, Tramp, Tramp

And of course some from Henry Clay Work
Kingdom Come
Marching Through Georgia
Grafted Into the Army

A song that's often mentioned as being sung by soldiers on both sides is Home, Sweet Home. Foster's Hard Times Come Again No More was supposedly a favorite of Lincoln's and there's a great soldiers' parody, Hard Tack, Come Again No More.

From the Rebel side, you can't go wrong with The Bonnie Blue Flag even if you don't want to sing all eleven verses (I usually make do with the first two and the last). There's a great after-the-war Southern song, The Southern Girl's Reply, to the same tune. Dixie, of course, and Goober Peas.

The really definitional Civ War melody is probably John Brown's Body in all its variations; you can find literally dozens of sets of words. Frank Proffitt, the North Carolina traditional singer, had a wonderful version. (His Going 'Cross the Mountains is another great song, about his grandfather's crossing into Tennessee to join the Union army.) Of course you end up with the tune being used for Battle Hymn of the Republic.

Kathy Barton and Dave Para have done a couple of albums of Civil War songs from Missouri, Rebel In the Woods and Johnny Whistletrigger, and they're great sources of unusual songs; I got I Goes To Fight Mit Sigel from them. The Faded Coat of Blue comes from my neck of the woods, composed by John Hugh McNaughton of Caledonia NY.

One of the few anti-war songs that survives is Kittredge's Tenting Tonight -- one of the all-time greats!

Dover Books' The Civil War Songbook has facsimile sheet music for 37 songs, and is a great source (if it's still in print -- copyright 1977).

As to tunes, a lot of the basic fiddle repertoire is good to go for the period. Girl I Left Behind Me and Garryowen were recognized marching tunes. A lot of the basic Foster minstrel repertoire is good period stuff as well.

Sorry to get carried away a bit, but I hope this helps.

[Michael Pilgrim]

http://www.pdmusic.org/

MBP

[Soupy1957]

I'm certainly glad that you folks know that "Ashokan Farewell" (the theme song from the Ken Burns Civil War Documentary), was NOT a song from the era. (It has the flavor and melancholy of that era though..it's as if that piece was "channeled" or something).

"I" didn't know that until I started learning it, and discovered the history behind it.

-Soupy1957

[Red Englemann]

I'm certainly glad that you folks know that "Ashokan Farewell"

Yea we're pretty up to date on stuff like that around here. Did you hear about the history of Danny Boy? It was written by an American who never was in Ireland. The tune was originally called by another name and the writer was unsuccessful in his attempts to promote it as I remember.

I think that Kingdom Come and Year of Jubilo are the same song from around the early 1800's.

red

[John Flynn]

The proper name of the tune is "Kingdom Coming" and it was written by Henry Clay Work in 1862. Work was a printer by trade, an avid abolitionist and a self-taught musician. He was "discovered" by a music publisher he was doing printing for, and "Kingdom Coming" was his first hit. He went on to become a prolific and successful songwrtier. He also wrote "Marching Through Georgia," which became the Princeton football fight song and as such is claimed to be the most performed Civil War era tune.

[luckylarue]

For further reference, check out the Tim O'brien cd, [/I]Songs From the Mountain, w/ Dirk Powell and John Herrmann. The collection was inspired by the songs referenced in Charles Frazier's novel, Cold Mountain, which I assume are either Civil War-era or older. Stuff like Cluck Old Hen, The Drunkard's Hiccups and Skillet Good and Greasy[I], come to mind, along w/ some great new tunes added to the cd.

Oops - my italics flip-flopped.

[allenhopkins]

Yea we're pretty up to date on stuff like that around here. Did you hear about the history of Danny Boy? It was written by an American who never was in Ireland. The tune was originally called by another name and the writer was unsuccessful in his attempts to promote it as I remember.


And did you know that both When Irish Eyes Are Smiling and My Wild Irish Rose were written by a man from Lockport NY? Chauncy Olcott, to be specific...

And now, my hijack is complete...

[CharlieKnuth]

Don't forget about the song Lorena. I read that there wasn't a time during the entire Civil War in which this song wasn't being song by a soldier on either side.

[Fred Keller]

Did you hear about the history of Danny Boy?

IIRC, the tune to Danny Boy is an old instrumental called "The Londonderry Air." There was apparently an English Music Hall comedy song called "Linda and Her London Derriere."

Here's more than you want to know: Danny Boy info (http://www.standingstones.com/danny3.html)

[ira]

follow the drinkin gourd is easy to play and a blast- you can change the cadence to give it a variety of different feels- i love that tune!

[EdSherry]

Are you looking for songs ABOUT the Civil War, or songs that were sung DURING the Civil War? A number of the songs in the earlier postings (e.g., Marching Through Georgia) are the former, not the latter.

Jerry Silverman had a good compliation of Civil War songs published by Mel Bay a while back. I don't know if it's still in print, but your library should be able to borrow it.

[allenhopkins]

Marching Through Georgia is copyright 1865 -- if not during the war, then immediately thereafter.

[adgefan]

He also wrote "Marching Through Georgia," which became the Princeton football fight song and as such is claimed to be the most performed Civil War era tune.
Marching Through Georgia, along with many Civil War era songs, has been adopted as a terrace chant by football (soccer) fans here in England and Scotland and as such is sung all over the country every Saturday. The words have been changed quite markedly, I won't reproduce them here for fear of promoting hooliganism!

[morgan]

Here's a link to band music of the Civil War from the Library of Congress:

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cwmhtml/cwmhome.html

[Daniel Nestlerode]

As to tunes, a lot of the basic fiddle repertoire is good to go for the period. Girl I Left Behind Me and Garryowen were recognized marching tunes. A lot of the basic Foster minstrel repertoire is good period stuff as well.
IIRC, Girl I Left Behind Me dates back to the French & Indian War in America/Seven Years War in Europe. But then as now, old tunes were fun to play. And it has a nice lilt as a march.

Daniel

[allenhopkins]

IIRC, Girl I Left Behind Me dates back to the French & Indian War in America/Seven Years War in Europe. But then as now, old tunes were fun to play. And it has a nice lilt as a march.

Daniel


The Brighton Camp lyrics to the tune tell of a recruit in the British army who can only think of "the girl I left behind me," hence the more common name of the tune.

[Ed Goist]

Based on recent discussions in this sub-forum, I thought I'd bump this thread back into play.
Lots of cool stuff here - Right after posting this I'm going to look for a tab for the song "Follow the Drinkin Gourd"! I've never heard of it, but it has to be great with a title like that!
Also, it's been stated in another thread (named Jack White [believe it or not!]) that there were very few mandolins in the US/Confederacy during the Civil War period. I found this surprising. What instrumentation would have been common in the 19th Century in general and the Civil War period specifically?

[Ed Goist]

...snip...Right after posting this I'm going to look for a tab for the song "Follow the Drinkin Gourd"! I've never heard of it, but it has to be great with a title like that!


This song has it's own website (http://www.followthedrinkinggourd.org/)!
The title apparently refers to Underground Railroad code for "Go North" (the drinking gourd being the big dipper, pointing to the north star). This stuff is just too cool!

[mrmando]

Also, it's been stated in another thread (named Jack White [believe it or not!]) that there were very few mandolins in the US/Confederacy during the Civil War period.
I have yet to encounter any hard evidence of a mandolin being carried/played by any Civil War soldier, North or South. Italians brought mandolins over when they began emigrating to the United States in large numbers in the 1870s, just after the Civil War.
What instrumentation would have been common in the 19th Century in general and the Civil War period specifically?
Fife, drum, violin, banjo, maybe a guitar here and there, sometimes a wind instrument like a cornet or euphonium.

[allenhopkins]

Other instruments common to the period were piano, other members of the violin family (viola, 'cello), flute, and the beginnings of free-reed instrumentation (concertina, pump organ etc.). Brass bands were probably as common as string bands. The concerts by the Spanish Students in 1880 et. seq. are generally considered to be the kick-off of mandolin popularity in the US (although they apparently played bandurrias, not mandolins).

And don't plan to include Follow the Drinking Gourd in a program of Civil War-era music. As the website points out, it was first published in 1928, and Lee Hays re-wrote it into its present form for the Weavers in the late 1940's.

[journeybear]

Fife, drum, violin, banjo, maybe a guitar here and there ...

I know they had guitars then because that's what Elvis played in "Love Me Tender." And in "Cat Ballou," set soon thereafter, Nat "King" Cole and Stubby Kaye played guitar and banjo.

OK, so I kid. But I heard that the melody of "Love Me Tender" dates to around the time of the Civli War.

[allenhopkins]

OK, so I kid. But I heard that the melody of "Love Me Tender" dates to around the time of the Civli War.

The melody of Love Me Tender is Aura Lea, written right in my Rochester NY neck of the woods by George Poulton, expatriate Englishman, music teacher, composer, and disreputable person -- one of the few American composers, I'd guess, to be tarred and feathered, and arrested for arson. Poulton, and lyricist W D Fosdick, published the song in 1861. Poulton died in 1867, age 38; an obituary attributed his death to "dissolute habits."

I use Aura Lea in Civil War programs, and in programs of local music. It's a beautiful and enduring melody, which is why new lyrics were written for Elvis's "slow dreamy ballad" debut in the movie that shared the song's title. The new lyrics are attributed to Presley, but that's due to a contractual arrangement for royalty assignment. A Wikipedia article gives lyric credit to Ken Darby, who was a backup vocalist for Bing Crosby and also worked on The Wizard of Oz. Doubt that you'll see Poulton's name attributed anywhere...

[journeybear]

I'll wager that the copyright for "Love Me Tender" had expired long before Elvis came along, and thus was in public domain. A lot of fudging was being done at the time about songwriting credits, motivated by royalties as you mentioned (Did Alan Freed really write 1/3 of Maybellene?), so I wouldn't be too surprised if Poulton's name was left off altogether. Why share part of your royalties with the estate of a dead man, long forgotten? BTW, I think the song preceded the movie, which was thusly titled to capitalize on its popularity and that of its singer. I used to scratch my head and wonder why this love ballad was being used in a Civil War movie about two feudin' brothers, until I learned it was contemporary. Still, it seemed as though the screenwriter(s) had to stretch the story a bit to find a way to fit it in. And whatever became of Debra Paget? :confused:

Hmmm ... according to the wiki, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Me_Tender_(song)) the song was indeed recorded for the movie, but released before the movie for marketing purposes - ie, to drum up business - and then the movie's name was changed to capitalize on the song's popularity. The discrepancy is measured in months, weeks really. But anyway ... This amusing anecdote is also related there:

The song is credited to Presley and Vera Matson because of the publishing agreement reached for the assignment of royalties, but the principal writer of the lyrics was Ken Darby (Matson's husband). The song was published by Elvis Presley Music.[1] Darby also adapted the Civil War tune, which was in the public domain. When asked why he credited his wife as co-songwriter along with Presley, Darby responded, "Because she didn't write it either."

Now THAT'S funny! :))


PS: Read about the original writer here. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_R._Poulton) Though the article is largely anecdotal, it does make the point that the song was very popular in its day: In 1861, George Poulton composed the tune "Aura Lee" - one of the most popular tunes of the 19th Century which became a famous American Civil War song and later became popular with college glee clubs and barbershop quartets. It was also sung at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York. ... [It] was popular with both Union and Confederate soldiers. It is also said, that often during the night, when both armies were camped within earshot of each other and the song "Aura Lea" was struck up by one side, the other side would join in.

PPS: The wikipedia article on the original song is entitled "Aura Lee," (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aura_Lee) and begins with: "Aura Lee" (also known as "Aura Lea") - with a photo of the sheet music plainly showing "Aura Lea!" :disbelief: I mention this in case I am unable to correct this ridiculously obvious error - that is, its name is "Aura Lea" but (may be) also known as "Aura Lee." Editor!!!

Now THAT'S REALLY funny! :)) :))

[allenhopkins]

...Read about the original writer here. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_R._Poulton) ...the article is largely anecdotal...

I rely for my Poulton information on an excellent article written for our local paper in 1984: Four Rochesterians of Note, by my friend Jim Kimball of SUNY Geneseo. He did some digging in original sources, and found the "dirt" on Poulton, who was dismissed in 1859 from his music teacher position at the Fort Edward Academy in Rome NY for "incompetency and indiscreet immorality" related to his elopement (Poulton was married at the time) with a young former student. After an initial escape from the woman's vengeful family, Poulton was in fact tarred and feathered; the incident warranted an article in the New York Times. Jim's article doesn't mention the later arson charge -- related to a fire at the New England Hotel -- but does state that Poulton reconciled with his wife, published Aura Lea in 1861, and contributed to the Rochester Daily Democrat, ancestor of our current local paper, as a columnist, before his death in 1867. He and his wife are buried in Mt. Hope Cemetery here.

Other Rochester composers mentioned in Jim's article are William Rulison, who wrote Rochester Schottische, and Englishman Henry Russell, who wrote A Life On the Ocean Wave, now the official march of Britain's Royal Marines.

[Martin Whitehead]

I have read, I think on the History of the Mandolin on this site, that the mandolin was a popular parlor instrument by the early 1850's. It may not have been the most common instrument in CW camps, but if it's true that thousands were sold in the 1850's it's hard to believe no one took it to war with them. I took mine to a re-enactment and none of the nit-pickers complained.

[Martin Whitehead]

I found it under "A Brief History of the Mandolin" on this site. It says, "It was in vogue in the 1850s," so there had to be some in the CW camps.

"The mandolin entered the mainstream of popular American culture during the first epoch of substantial immigration from eastern and southern Europe, a period of prosperity and vulgarity, when things exotic and foreign dominated popular taste.

It was in vogue in the 1850s, when it shared the parlor with zithers, mandolas, ukuleles, and other novelties designed to amuse the increasingly leisured middle class. A marked increase in Italian immigration in the 1880s sparked a fad for the bowl-backed Neopolitan instrument that spread across the land. The mandolin was even among the first recorded instruments on Edison cylinders. In 1897, Montgomery Ward's catalog marveled at the 'phenomenal growth in our Mandolin trade'."

[Steve Ostrander]

This song has it's own website!
The title apparently refers to Underground Railroad code for "Go North" (the drinking gourd being the big dipper, pointing to the north star). This stuff is just too cool!


A few years ago I was involved in a concert that Josh White Jr. did at the museum I work at. He told a similar story about the hymn "Canaan Land" , saying that "Canaan" was a code word for "Canada".

BTW, Josh is a very interesting and down-to-earth guy. We talked a lot about music, and how he came to live in Michigan. He graciously invited me up on stage to sing backup vocals on one of his songs. I can't for the life of me remember which song because I was petrified. I only remember that I didn't make a complete fool of myself.

[journeybear]

I rely for my Poulton information on an excellent article written for our local paper in 1984: Four Rochesterians of Note, by my friend Jim Kimball of SUNY Geneseo. He did some digging in original sources, and found the "dirt" on Poulton ...

Talk about turning your life around. Wow! Please suggest to him to update the wiki article, as none of that is in there.

I did manage to correct the wiki so now everything is "just so." The lyrics to "Aura Lea" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aura_Lee) are worth a read, if only for a glimpse into how much fashion has changed regarding such things. These are among the most flowery lyrics I've ever read. I can see why it would have been popular with college glee clubs and barbershop quartets. The version mentioned earlier as having been sung at West Point had different lyrics and was called "Army Blue."

Thanks for your input, Martin. I agree with you - if there were mandolins in the country at the time of the war (that would have been the only sticking point, to my mind), they would have been taken along by the soldiers. Any means of making music, with its power to transport people from their surroundings - often bleak, at best - would have been most welcome.

[allenhopkins]

I found it under "A Brief History of the Mandolin" on this site. It says, "It was in vogue in the 1850s," so there had to be some in the CW camps.

"The mandolin entered the mainstream of popular American culture during the first epoch of substantial immigration from eastern and southern Europe, a period of prosperity and vulgarity, when things exotic and foreign dominated popular taste.

It was in vogue in the 1850s, when it shared the parlor with zithers, mandolas, ukuleles, and other novelties designed to amuse the increasingly leisured middle class. A marked increase in Italian immigration in the 1880s sparked a fad for the bowl-backed Neopolitan instrument that spread across the land. The mandolin was even among the first recorded instruments on Edison cylinders. In 1897, Montgomery Ward's catalog marveled at the 'phenomenal growth in our Mandolin trade'."

Well, to start with, no ukuleles anywhere in the 1850's. There's a pretty well-documented history of ukulele development in Hawaii, tracing it to the four-string braguinha or machete "guitars" brought by Portuguese immigrants to Hawaii in 1879. Whether Manuel Nunes, who claimed to have invented the ukulele, actually did or not, pretty clear that Portuguese/Madeiran woodworkers in Hawaii started building them in the late 19th century. The uke didn't get to the US until the early 20th century.

No one is saying that there wasn't a single mandolin in any soldier camp during the Civil War. But the fact remains that mandolins being used to play Civil War music is a flirtation with anachronism. I'm aware of no documentation of mandolins being played in those circumstances -- letters, contemporary accounts, photos etc.* Mandolins were pretty rare, and closely associated with immigrants from the Mediterranean, as they had been since colonial times. Plenty of discussion of fiddles, banjos, etc. in the contemporary writings, but not of mandolins.

The rise of mandolin popularity was related to two post-Civil War phenomena: the arrival of European musical performers who used the instrument, and the rise in immigration from Mediterranean countries in the late 19th century. Of the first, the most notable was the tour of the bandurria-playing "Spanish Students" in 1880. The second took off after 1880; between 1820 and 1880, only 81,249 registered immigrants from Italy had arrived in America. Between 1880 and 1920, the number was 4,114,603. So there was a huge increase in immigrant mandolin players, builders, and fans after 1880.

Not really trying to discourage Civil War music re-enactors from playing mandolin; I don't do it myself, sticking to banjo, guitar and concertina, but as long as one is playing a bowl-back, one can re-enact one of the rare, undocumented, but probably still viable Civil War mandolinists. But if one is going to worry about the most exacting details of costume, repertoire, performance style etc. -- and there are those re-enactors who do, "nit-pickers" perhaps -- well, at least don't play an F-model...

* LATER: doing a bit more research, I do find some mandolin references in contemporary documentation. Ole Halverson, a 1st Sgt. in Co. I, 82nd Illinois Infantry, wrote home several times about his wish to learn to play the mandolin. Thomas Brigham Bishop, the supposed composer of Glory, Glory, Hallelujah, precursor of John Brown's Body and Battle Hymn of the Republic, reportedly played mandolin in Maine in the 1850's, performing in minstrel shows and country dances. Confederate soldier Sidney Lanier of the Macon GA Volunteers, stationed in Norfolk VA in the early days of the war, writing in 1867 recalled those as "gay days of mandolin and guitar and moonlight sails on the James River." So a few links to come to light! However, if one wanted to play what was probably the most prevalent and authentic instrument in the Civil War soldier's arsenal -- I'd suggest the Jew's harp; portable, durable, inexpensive, and widely played in those days. Hard to sing and play it, though.

[Martin Whitehead]

Thanks for the info Allen.

[allenhopkins]

Thanks for the info Allen.

You're welcome, but I apologize for the long, long posting -- too much like a lecture! I love doing research on some of these questions; Google is definitely my friend (and my son's former employer).

I did some research on mandolin mentions in colonial times, and found mainly references to "Signor So-and-so" just arrived from Spain or Italy, teaching music in New York or Philadelphia, and giving instruction in "violin, mandolin, guitar and voice." It just doesn't seem that the mandolin got broadly popular in the US until the last two decades of the 19th century. So I tread very softly when considering including mandolin in Civil War music programming. With the sesquicentennial starting next year, I'm getting quite a few inquiries already about such programs, and I suspect anyone who does Civil War music is going to get work between now and 2015.

[Bigtuna]

After watching the Ken Burns Civil War Documentary, I've become interested in the music of this era. From a musicological perspective what would be some of the most important music from this era in yur opinion. Not necesarrily most popular, but defining music of this period. Seems like a good theme for a musical project for someone.

I caught that the other day too on PBS. I swear one of the narrators sounded like John Hartford, I could be wrong, I never saw the credits. Lots of fiddle tunes in it, John Hartford again?

[journeybear]

Jay Ungar did the fiddle, as well as wrote the theme song, "Ashokan Farewell," some eight years previously - the only non-period song in the production. The narration (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Civil_War_(TV_series)) was by David McCullough. John Hartford does perform three songs on the soundtrack album, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songs_of_the_Civil_War) including ( ... drum roll ... ) Aura Lea. :mandosmiley:

[Martin Whitehead]

Allen, I appreciate the info; no need to apologize. I'm just getting into re-enacting myself and you saved me some research time. I need to save a few rubles and look for an inexpensive bowl back that I don't need to worry about taking to events. I don't like the idea of taking my only mandolin camping and a bowl back will at least be "defensible" as non-farb.

[journeybear]

Also, harmonicas would have been common, for the same reasons Allen cited for the Jew's harp: portable, durable, inexpensive. I'd add evocative too, though practical concerns would have been paramount.

From the wiki: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonica) Shortly after Hohner began manufacturing harmonicas in 1857, he shipped some to relatives who had emigrated to the United States. Its music rapidly became popular, and the country became an enormous market for Hohner's goods. President Abraham Lincoln carried a harmonica in his pocket, and harmonicas provided solace to soldiers on both the Union and Confederate sides of the American Civil War. Frontiersmen Wyatt Earp and Billy the Kid played the instrument, and it became a fixture of the American musical landscape.

[Martin Whitehead]

And tinwhistles for the same reasons.

[journeybear]

And also because they are much cooler than accordions and bagpipes :cool: and can be used as a weapon.







Duck!

[foldedpath]

No one is saying that there wasn't a single mandolin in any soldier camp during the Civil War. But the fact remains that mandolins being used to play Civil War music is a flirtation with anachronism. I'm aware of no documentation of mandolins being played in those circumstances -- letters, contemporary accounts, photos etc.* Mandolins were pretty rare, and closely associated with immigrants from the Mediterranean, as they had been since colonial times. Plenty of discussion of fiddles, banjos, etc. in the contemporary writings, but not of mandolins.

This might be of interest: have you seen that new Google Ngram tool? They've digitized something like 10% of all books ever published (!), and about a third are used for the Ngram charts. It's not a definitive way to answer questions like this, but to the extent that books track culture at a given time, it's at least suggestive.

Anyway, here's the chart for mention of the word "mandolin" in books published in America since 1800 (the squared-off spike just after 1800 is probably a glitch):

http://ngrams.googlelabs.com/graph?content=mandolin&year_start=1800&year_end=2008&corpus=5&smoothing=3

Remember this tracks both fiction and non-fiction books (not sheet music, AFAIK). It does show some steady usage of the term before the Spanish Students et al, but I'm guessing this was mostly related to immigrant music, or maybe parlor music? I would agree it doesn't seem like a very practical instrument to drag out to the battlefields of the Civil War. Mandolins of the time would have been fairly fragile, and all those strings to tune...

For what it's worth, here's the relative popularity of word "banjo" compared to "mandolin" over the same period:

http://ngrams.googlelabs.com/graph?content=mandolin%2C+banjo&year_start=1800&year_end=2008&corpus=5&smoothing=3

[Capt. E]

I would expect the concertina would be more common in the Civil War, especially with the large number of English/Irish imigrants. The English and Anglo style concertina was fully developed by the 1840's.
I agree with the harmonica, large numbers were imported from Germany beginning in the late 1850's.
I wonder if a mandolin would have been more likely here in Texas or Louisiana with the large mediterranian population.
One of the big factors that affect most people's view of the Civil War is the heavy emphasis on the events occurring in the eastern states. With the exception of a few battles such as Shiloh, Vicksburg, Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge, the war in the west has never been as well known. That has shifted somewhat with historians in the last two decades.
I am sure there were also significant Union/Confederate differences. I expect differing demographics would have resulted in different instruments.

[Martin Whitehead]

You make some good points Cap'n. I recently heard that there were more armed conflicts (everything from skirmishes to full-fledged battles) in Missouri than any other state during the CW.

[jbrwky]

an obituary attributed his death to "dissolute habits."

That's my objective. People knew how to write in those days.

" the man's internal processes did not even temporarily quicken when confronted with imminent failure"

:))

[allenhopkins]

You make some good points Cap'n. I recently heard that there were more armed conflicts (everything from skirmishes to full-fledged battles) in Missouri than any other state during the CW.

If you have any interest in Civil War music from Missouri, let me suggest two excellent recordings by Cathy Barton and Dave Para, Johnny Whistletrigger and Rebel In the Woods. I learned a very funny St. Louis German-immigrant Unionist song, I Goes To Fight Mit Sigel, from that source.

[Ed Goist]

...snip...I learned a very funny St. Louis German-immigrant Unionist song, I Goes To Fight Mit Sigel, from that source.

How wonderful! (http://ingeb.org/songs/sigel.html)

[Martin Whitehead]

Ah, yes, Allen. Dave and Cathy are well known in this region and appear regularly at the local dulcimer club for workshops. They are from Boonville, MO, the site of four CW battles.

[Martin Whitehead]

You make some good points Cap'n. I recently heard that there were more armed conflicts (everything from skirmishes to full-fledged battles) in Missouri than any other state during the CW.

Read today that Missouri was third behind only Virginia and Tennesee.

[farmerjones]

Unmentioned thus far is a ballad of The Two Soldiers.
I only heard it first on the Greatful Dawg CD.
Though i know not of it's authenticity, i found it most powerfull.
Enough in fact that i endevoured to play and sing myself.

[allenhopkins]

Unmentioned thus far is a ballad of The Two Soldiers....Though i know not of it's authenticity, i found it most powerful...

I think the song to which you're referring is Two Brothers, though I don't see it on the Grateful Dawg CD listing; the first verse goes:
Two brothers on their way, two brothers on their way,
Two brothers on their way, one wore blue and one wore gray.

It was written by Irving Gordon, a 20th century Tin Pan Alley writer (1915-1996), who also wrote (Throw Mama) From the Train and Unforgettable (big hit for Nat King Cole). Two Brothers has been recorded by everyone from Judy Collins to Tom Jones, and it no doubt appeals to many with its "brother against brother" theme, but it's not from the Civil War.

There's another The Two Soldiers that Mike Seeger recorded with Autoharp, supposedly a fragment of a longer ballad, The Battle of Fredericksburg, or, The Last Fierce Charge. Its first lines are:
He was just a blue-eyed Boston boy, his voice was low with pain;
"I'll do your bidding, comrade mine, if I ride back again."

This is a great song, and pretty close to "period," at least from just after the war. I don't do it too much, because it fits so well with Autoharp, but that instrument wasn't invented until the 1880's, and so is certainly anachronistic in a Civil War program.

[farmerjones]

No sir,
Two Soldiers, Ballad of (it almost sounds like it starts on the 2nd verse)

He was just a blue eyed Boston boy, his voice was low with pain.
I'l do your bidding comrad mine, if i could ride back again.
But if you ride back, and i am left, you'd do as much for me.
Mother you know must hear the news, so write to her tenderly.
She's waiting at home like a patient saint, her face is pale with woe.
Her heart will be broke when i am gone. I'll see her soon, i know.
Just then the orders came to charge, for an instant hand touched hand.
They said aye and away the rode, that brave and devoted band.

I'd go on but that's a heavy tune, Civil War or not. Great melody.
Or, to the Son's of the South, The War of Northern Agression.

[allenhopkins]

...
Two Soldiers, Ballad of (it almost sounds like it starts on the 2nd verse)...
He was just a blue eyed Boston boy, his voice was low with pain....

Yeah, that's the second one I quoted in my post. Mike Seeger recorded it on his Vanguard album back in the '60's, and I think most people who've sung it since got it from him. What's interesting about his version is that it begins in the middle of a much longer ballad, which, as I mentioned above, has been titled The Battle of Fredericksburg, or, The Last Fierce Charge.

If you're interested in the four verses missing from the Seeger et. al. version, they're collected here, (http://www.lizlyle.lofgrens.org/RmOlSngs/RTOS-TwoSoldiers.html) with a bibliography of additional references. As I said, despite the fact that The Two Soldiers is a wonderful song from the Civil War era, I don't often perform it in Civil War programs, because I learned it from Seeger's version with Autoharp, and the Autoharp wasn't around until 20 years after the war. Maybe I'll have to rethink my approach, 'cause it sure is a great song...