Music of the Civil War

Civil War Music

A lot of artifacts from the Civil War have been lost along the way from then to now. Although, one thing remains the same: we have hundreds of songs from the time period. There are several different types of Civil War songs. Some were sung by soldiers when the were sad and thinking about their families back home. Others were written to be marched to and were to lift the morale of the soldiers on either side. Slaves also wrote songs during the war. Loved ones left back home wrote songs in memory of their family members off or lost at war. No matter what kind of song it is, it gives us a good indication of what the author was feeling at the time and if helpful to historians, whose job it is to interpret artifacts left behind in history. In the war drumbeats served two purposes. The drums were used to tell soldiers what to do and issued commands to the soldiers. The other purpose of the drum was to help the soldiers march orderly together. These drum calls were often partnered with fife. This form of music was very popular during the Civil War with generals because the shrill tone of the fife was able to be heard well over all the other loud sounds of the war on the battlefield. One other musical instrument crucial to the war was the bugle. Along with the drums, they too were in charge of sounding commands to the soldiers. They sounded in the morning as a wake up call, at night to alert time for bed, and numerous other commands on the battlefield such as retreat or advance.

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"Civil War Music : History of Civil War Music." Civil War Music : Civil War Songs, Music, Fife & Drum Music, Photographs, and more. Web. 04 Jan. 2010. <http://www.civilwarmusic.net/history.php#>.