
by Sandra Merville Hart
The American Civil War (1861—1865) inspired many songs. In fact, “The First Gun is Fired! May God Protect the Right!” was published three days after the firing on Fort Sumter, the official beginning of the war. George F. Root composed that song and over thirty others about the war.
Not all the songs popular during the war were written in that turbulent period. Also, different words were often written for the same tune. For example, the tune for “Maryland, My Maryland!” was the same as the Christmas song “O Tannenbaum.”
War songs often dealt with topics on the minds of soldiers, such as home, sweethearts, family, battles, battlefield deaths, faith, survival, and heroes. “The Drummer Boy of Shiloh,” “Just Before the Battle, Mother,” “The Girl I Left Behind Me,” and “Comrades, I Am Dying!” are examples of these.
Songs that particularly struck a chord with citizens dealt with patriotic themes, missing a family member, and grief for those who weren’t coming home, of which “Battle Hymn of the Republic” and “The Vacant Chair (or We Shall Meet but We Shall Miss Him)” are poignant examples.
“God Save the South,” “Dixie,” “The Bonnie Blue Flag,” “All Quiet Along the Potomac Tonight,” and “Maryland, My Maryland!” were sung in the South.
“Battle Cry of Freedom,” “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” “The Grant Pill,” and “The Children of the Battle Field” were among those sung in the North.
Union and Confederate armies heard each other’s bands playing on the eve of the Battle of Stones River. A musical rivalry ensued where Union and Confederate bands took turns playing songs that supported their own side. When bands played “Home! Sweet Home!”, both sides sang together. One can only imagine how mutual yearning for their families swelled their voices into the night sky.
This song bound both sides together for an unforgettable moment.
Some of these tunes are examples of what the characters in my novel, Avenue of Betrayal, Book 1 of my “Spies of the Civil War” series, enjoyed at regimental band concerts in the story. My hope is that these scenes transport readers back when such concerts were an oasis during those turbulent war days, as well as show that not everyone in the city was loyal to the Union.

Sources
(Introduction by) Crawford, Richard. The Civil War Songbook, Dover Publications, Inc., 1977.
“Music of the American Civil War,” Wikipedia, 2022/02/01 ttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_the_American_Civil_War.