Civil war era tunes

[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, 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...