There are so many thoughts that flood my mind when I reflect on the Civil War. This conflict was devastating…however, when thinking about the sights you will be visiting during your escorted vacation, The Journey Through Hallowed Ground, there is a commonality that I find truly fascinating and uplifting. Whether you were a Rebel or a Yankee, one universal thread was music. As you immerse yourself in the Battle of Gettysburg, can you not help but think of the Battle Hymn of the Republic? When tramping through Antietam and Harpers Ferry, won’t the haunting strains of Dixie echo in your brain?
Both North and South relied on music to convey messages. Drumbeats originally served two purposes: to tell soldiers what to do, and to keep them in step. Drum calls issued commands to soldiers, while other drumbeats with fife accompaniments helped soldiers march. Fife music was popular during the war because the shrill tone of the fife could be heard well above the rumbling of cannon and the other noises on the battlefield.
Buglers were crucial in the war because they too were responsible for sounding out commands: this included reveille in the morning, tattoo at night (and numerous calls in between), as well as field commands such as advance and retreat.
The Civil War lasted for four long, hard years, and during those years, scores of songs were composed and sung throughout the armies and at home. On the field, fifers played shrill tunes accompanied by drummers beating a variety of beats. Most of the music played and enjoyed during that period still survives today. The songs sung during the war can be divided into several categories. There were inspirational marching songs written to boost the morale’s of soldiers on both sides. There were Negro spirituals and other traditional slave songs. There were songs that soldiers sang when they were sad and thinking of home; there were songs that families sang at home when thinking of loved ones away at war. Interestingly, if soldiers liked a tune they heard the enemy singing, they would write their own lyrics to the song and sing it themselves. For this reason, many Civil War songs have at least two versions.
To my knowledge, the poem enclosed was never set to music; however it truly exemplifies the pain, loss, and devastation suffered on both sides during this most significant event in American history.
The Blue And The Gray
Francis Miles Finch (1827-1907)
By the flow of the inland river,
Whence the fleets of iron have fled,
Where the blades of the grave-grass quiver,
Asleep are the ranks of the dead:
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment-day;
Under the one, the Blue,
Under the other, the Gray.
These in the robings of glory,
Those in the gloom of defeat,
All with the battle-blood gory,
In the dusk of eternity meet:
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgement-day
Under the laurel, the Blue,
Under the willow, the Gray.
From the silence of sorrowful hours
The desolate mourners go,
Lovingly laden with flowers
Alike for the friend and the foe;
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgement-day;
Under the roses, the Blue,
Under the lilies, the Gray.
So with an equal splendor,
The morning sun-rays fall,
With a touch impartially tender,
On the blossoms blooming for all:
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment-day;
Broidered with gold, the Blue,
Mellowed with gold, the Gray.
So, when the summer calleth,
On forest and field of grain,
With an equal murmur falleth
The cooling drip of the rain:
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment -day,
Wet with the rain, the Blue
Wet with the rain, the Gray.
Sadly, but not with upbraiding,
The generous deed was done,
In the storm of the years that are fading
No braver battle was won:
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment-day;
Under the blossoms, the Blue
Under the garlands, the Gray.
No more shall the war cry sever,
Or the winding rivers be red;
They banish our anger forever
When they laurel the graves of our dead!
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment-day,
Love and tears for the Blue,
Tears and love for the Gray.
For more information about the songs written and sung by both sides during the Civil War, you may want to look at Keith and Rusty McNeil’s publication: The Civil War Songbook, with historical commentary. I found it fascinating.
I sincerely hope you learn a lot during your escorted vacation through Hallowed Ground. I can guarantee your time away will be well spent. Please let us at Interlude know how this experience affects you – we love bringing history to life and helping to create a more complete understanding of a very controversial time in our past.
This tour is sponsored by the Indiana Historical Society. You are welcome to join their members for this outstanding travel opportunity commemorating the upcoming 150th Anniversary of the Civil War. Please take a look at the itinerary details!
Journey Through Hallowed Ground (click here for itinerary)
October 19-22, 2010 (4 days, 3 nights)
Eadie
– Interlude blog team
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Tags: Civil War 150th Anniversary, Civil War Music, Fall Folliage, Gettysburg, Journey Through Hallowed Ground
