“All history proves that music is as indispensable to warfare as money, and money has been called the sinews of war. And music is its soul...”
The New York Herald, 1862
The musical world around soldiers and civilians during the antebellum and war years provided support, guidance, and entertainment. As is true with today's music, people from that time period gravitated toward music that reflected their feelings at that moment. The soldiers took great solace in familiar antebellum music that evoked these fond memories. And by doing so, broke through the barriers of political, ideological, and regional divides brought on by the Civil War.
With the country embroiled in war, music remained important to everyone, at home and on the front lines. The lyrics rekindled emotions reminded men why they enlisted and helped forge a common bond throughout the ranks.
"In camp and hospital they sang sentimental songs and ballads, comic songs and patriotic numbers...these songs were better than rations or medicine." Kenneth Bernard
An image taken early in the war of the
33rd NY State Volunteer Infantry band,
also known as the Elmira Cornet Band.
Library of Congress
Singing, playing, and hearing music allowed troops to reminisce about peaceful times at home with family and loved ones, bond, and temporarily escape from the horrors of battle. Soldiers of both sides often engaged in recreation with musical instruments, and when the opposing armies were near each other, sometimes the bands from both sides of the conflict played against each other the night before a battle.
At the start of the war, there were few military bands. As state and local militias were mustered into service, they brought along their bands and were useful in recruiting soldiers. In July of 1861, the War Department issued Order #48 entitling two field musicians (buglers or fifes and drummers) per company of soldiers and a band of 16-24 musicians for each regiment. These musicians were noncombatants, there solely to provide music for the Army and morale-boosting so badly needed.
In the months when both armies, unable to campaign because of impassable roads, would go into winter camps where there was little to keep them occupied. During these times, amateur musicians, drawn from companies, regiments, and bridges put on plays, reviews, and even excerpts from famous operas.
John Billings of the 9th Massachusetts Battery and author of Hardtack and Coffee wrote:
"There was probably not a regiment in the service that did not boast of one violinist, one banjoist, and bones player in it's ranks...and one or all of them could be heard in operation... a most pleasant evening...The usual medley of comic songs and sentimental melodies composed the greater part of the entertainment."
2nd South Carolina String Band Library of Congress
Their primary duty was on the battlefield. Long before radios and technological advances, music - drums, bugles, fifes, etc. - was a vital part of the command process used to marshal, move, and direct troops in camp or on the march, and especially in battle where the cacophony of the fighting drowned out all verbal commands beyond a few feet.
Troops on the move and in camps used music in a variety of ways. The common man from both the North and the South did not have the cultural opportunities to hear live music found in larger cities. Thus the bands exposed these soldiers to popular tunes such as "Eatin' Goober Peas", "When Johnny Comes Marching Home", "The Battle Cry of Freedom", "Lorena", "Listen to the Mocking Bird", and "Dixie" as well as many others.
Whether sentimental or high-spirited, the Confederate and Union soldier's music was an important part of the way of life and culture they fought to preserve.
Often, if either army was camped near a village or town, their singing could be heard throughout the countryside, giving the residents comfort and a respite from the horrendous battle being waged literally in their fields and back yards. However, if the opposing army had overtaken a town or a village, those same residents became easily annoyed by the singing of their enemies.
Such was the case in my upcoming release, Marrying the Major (Mended Hearts Series). Following the surrender at Appomattox, the Army of the Ohio descends upon Adams Mill, awaiting the surrender of North Carolina in nearby Durham Station. Hoping to court Judge Davis Lambert's older daughter, Kit, Union officer Major William Chandler assembles a group of musicians to serenade the beauty.
To read an excerpt click here.
Coming in October!
The War Between the States has ended…but
for Kit and Will their battle had just begun.
As the daughter of a prominent judge and well-bred mother whose roots could be traced back to before the War of Independence, Katherine Lambert had been the belle of Adams Mill. Her upbringing her schooling and her privileged world had revolved around the latest fashions, picnics, parties, and a host of beaus and friends.
She was expected to raise children; not her voice.
Until she defied her family and the Rebel cause by doing the unthinkable...falling in love with a Union cavalry officer.
The moment the very elegant very beautiful Katherine Lambert turned around to look at U.S. Major William Chandler was the moment she marched off with his heart. Though he always planned to carve out his own destiny, to marry and raise a family, he never expected love to find him in a small Southern town.
Encountering opposition at every turn, he remains undaunted,
determined to court and marry Kit and see who took serious objection.
They'd hoped their love would mend and heal the wounds of a splintered family, but someone else had other ideas.
Website: joannrobertsauthor.com
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