Tenting
Tonight: Songs of the Civil War
By Judy
Cook
CD
Curriculum Guide
Period songs are an
excellent teaching aid. They are a primary source providing a bridge to
understanding the people and culture of the time. This music provides a direct, narrative, and emotional connection
between the student and voices from the past.
The Tenting Tonight
CD supports National Educational Standards for grades 5 through 12 in the ArtsEdge (Music) and History
fields.
This recording contains a
unique collection of songs from and about the American Civil War presented in a
straightforward, traditional, unaccompanied style. Most of the songs are
primary source material, written by Americans during the 1860s about
experiences that are representative of the feelings of individuals of the Civil
War period.
Backgrounds for each of the
sixteen songs and the three tunes on the CD, and some general suggestions for
extended learning can be found in Section 2. Subsection 1.3. contains some
general suggestions for preparation.
The specific National
Educational Standards supported are presented in Section 3 for ArtsEdge (Music)
and in Section 4 for History. These sections are organized by song. They show
how the relevant songs relate to the standards, and suggest pre-and
post-listening strategies for extended learning.
Before playing the songs,
the following may be helpful to students:
The songs are presented in a
straightforward unaccompanied style. Unaccompanied
singing was much more common at the time of the Civil War than it is today,
but it remains a means to motivate, entertain, and comfort one's self and
others with only one's own voice. The tunes and rhythms enhance the emotions
and aid the memory. The intimacy of
unaccompanied singing can strengthen the connection between singer and
listener.
Instruments such as fiddle,
banjo, harmonica and/or concertina might have been played to accompany songs of
the time if the instrument(s) were available, but unaccompanied singing was
equally acceptable. The voice is always available; instruments must be carried
in addition to weapons, ammunition, food, clothes and shelter.
When have you entertained,
comforted, or motivated yourself or others with just your voice? Perhaps you tell jokes, sing lullabies,
chant jump-rope rhymes, or rap.
Prior to listening, it could
be useful to look at a U.S. map in order to better understand the songs. Sections 3 and 4 of this document list
locations for specific songs.
This section provides known
authors, dates, and general history for each of the songs on the CD. The songs
and tunes are presented in the same order as they appear on the CD.
The tunes are played on an
English concertina, a free-reed instrument invented by Wheatstone in England
the 1830’s. It is a contemporary of the
Anglo concertina invented by Honer in Germany.
Both are mechanized versions of the more familiar harmonica with bellows
to provide the air and buttons to control which reeds sound.
A traditional song from the
1850's
In
the 1850s, in Alabama, a man hired on at a slave-owning plantation, perhaps as
a carpenter or a painter. While he
worked he talked to the slaves, taught them the code song, and then moved
on. A short time later, slaves from that
plantation would disappear on the long road to freedom. The song was a code and a memory aid: it
advises escaping slaves to begin their journey at the time of year when the sun
begins to rise higher in the sky each day and when the quail - a migratory bird
that winters in the south - is heard.
Leaving at this time would most likely bring them to the Ohio River
nearly a year later when it would be frozen over and could be walked
across. To get to the Ohio River they
must follow the Tom Bigbee River north to its headwaters, cross the hills and
continue north up the Tennessee River, until it empties into the Ohio. "The Old Man", Peg Leg Joe, will
be waiting there to escort them for the remainder of the trip. Using the riverbed as a road means that
scents and footprints are harder to trace.
Along the riverbank there are dead trees marked with the sign of a
footprint and a peg leg. Overhead in the sky the big dipper, "the drinking
gourd", keeps them always headed north.
(Most of the traveling would have been done at night.)
By Walter Robinson, written
in 1978.
Harriet Tubman was born into
slavery. After freeing herself, she is
believed to have conducted some 300 slaves to freedom along the Underground
Railroad, that vast network of people who helped fugitive slaves.
By Henry Clay Work, written
in 1862
The
Confederacy began drafting in 1862, and a year later, the Union called for all
men between the ages of 18 and 45 to be available for the draft. Earlier than that, individual states had
been using the draft to fulfill quotas.
“Grafted
Into The Army” voices a mother's sentiments upon learning that her youngest
(and only surviving) son has been drafted. But the song is funny because it is
full of malapropisms.
Henry
Clay Work wrote many other popular songs in the 19th century
including Grandfather’s Clock” (1876).
By Walter Kittredge, written
in 1863
Walter
Kittredge wrote this song soon after he had been drafted into the Union army. He expected to leave for the
front soon, but as it turned out he was later rejected for military service on
medical grounds and never served on the battlefield.
Words by Henry Webster, tune
by Joseph Webster in 1857
Lorena
was one of the most popular sentimental songs, especially in the South.
The
story behind the song goes back to Massachusetts in May of 1849 when Ella
Blocksom broke off her engagement to a struggling young preacher named Henry
Webster. Still pining after more than
eight years, Webster poured out his heart in a poem. Joseph Webster composed the melody. The name “Lorena” was based on “Lost Lenore” which Henry found in
the popular writings of Edgar Allen Poe.
A traditional song from the
19th Century
This
is song of good-natured rivalry between neighboring states.
Before
the Civil War, there was no West Virginia, but in May 1861, less than a month
after Virginia voted to secede from the Union, delegates from 27 of Virginia’s
northwestern counties met to decide what to do. Ultimately they seceded back to the Union and in June 1863, West
Virginia became the 35th state. Even
within states, especially the Border States, there was no unanimity of
sentiment. Over a third of West
Virginia’s Civil War soldiers fought for the confederacy.
Tune only introducing the
medley.
In the 1850's Valentine
Vousden wrote a stage song "The Irish Jaunting Car". Harry Macarthy
used the tune for his lyrics "The Bonnie Blue Flag" which became a
rallying song for the South. "The
Bonnie Blue Flag is mentioned in "Greencastle Jenny" and variants of
the tune show up both there and in "Southern Girl's Reply".
Words by Helen Gray Cone (1859-1934) and
tune by Bob Zentz 1990s
Confederate
General George Pickett may be best remembered for his division's famous, tragic
charge at the Battle of Gettysburg.
Greencastle, PA is a small town just south and west of Gettysburg, with
a main Street of Civil War era houses that survive to this day. This song tells the story of a true incident
that happened in Greencastle on June 22, 1863 a few days before the Battle of
Gettysburg. On that day a Union girl by
the name of Dolly Harris confronted Pickett's division as they marched past her
home. Pickett saluted her and the men
cheered her bravery. Many poems were
written about the incident. Helen Cone used the name Jenny instead of Dolly
because, at the time the poem was written, Dolly was still living and Helen
wanted to preserve her anonymity.
Words by Pearl Rivers in 1874 using the tune from the Bonny Blue
Flag (see above)
This song was collected
about 1940 by Anne & Frank Warner from Eleazar Tillett on the Outer Banks
of NC. The words are very close to the
poem "True To the Gray," written by Pearl Rivers, and
published in Allan's Lone Star Ballads in 1874.
A traditional song of
unknown ancestry
This
is a song of a mountain Unionist saying farewell to his sweetheart.
When
North Carolina seceded from the Union in May 1861, many mountain men were torn
between loyalty to their state and disdain for the rich planters of the
lowlands further east. As the war
dragged on, conditions in the mountains deteriorated and many of these folks
saw their only alternative as crossing over the mountains and joining the
Federal Army, which by 1963 occupied large portions of nearby Tennessee.
It
comes from the singing of Frank Proffitt from the mountains of western North Carolina.
Words by John R. Thompson in
1863 using a popular tune by Daniel Decatur Emmett from 1853
Quite
a jaunty song that was popular during the Civil War was a minstrel song by
Daniel Decatur Emmett called “Jordon is a Hard Road to Travel”. It provided the tune for many political
& propaganda songs of the time, including this one, “Richmond is a Hard
Road to Travel”. It was made up by John
R. Thompson, editor of the Southern Literary Messenger and published
therein in early 1863 when the war was still going reasonably well for the
Confederacy. This patter song documents six failed attempts by the Union army
to take Richmond
Tune only. Written by George
Root in 1864
Anonymous from the1860s
Written during the Civil
War, this broadside ballad of the famous battle that began the age of ironclad
ships has more Yankee swagger than either truth or art.
Two men are mentioned in the
song: John Ericsson who designed the Monitor, and John Worden who was her
captain.
Written by C.D. Benson in
1862
This
is a comical song about a man who comes to camp to sell his wares, but
foolishly lets his mule disappear - probably “conscripted into the service of
the Confederacy”. The song was very
popular with General John Bell Hood’s Texas Brigade. The men in the Texas Brigade would use the phrase from the song
"Here’s your mule" to taunt or banter with the cavalrymen. Apparently
the Texans were successful in rousing the cavalrymen on an occasion or two as
this story from the Texas Brigade illustrates.
On
June 8, 1863 Hood brought his infantry division to a grand review of Maj. Gen.
J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry at Brandy Station. Fearful that Hood's Texans might use
the occasion to mock the cavalrymen as they paraded by, Gen. Fitzhugh Lee
warned Hood not to allow his men to yell, ``Here's your mule!'' Gen. Wade
Hampton also warned Hood that his command would charge any disrespectful
Texans. Exercising unprecedented restraint, the Texans behaved like gentlemen
throughout the dandy occasion.
Anonymous; words attributed
to A. Pindar
and tune to P. Nutt, esq when published in 1866
When
food became scarce in the south, soldiers began eating peanuts. Before the war, peanuts were most often
eaten by cows and pigs.
Since
pindars and goober peas are both slang terms for peanuts, no-one apparently
wanted to claim responsibility for this good natured complaint about a staple
of Southern camp diet.
The
previous song, “Here’s Your Mule” explains a lot about the second verse of
“Goober Peas.”
Words by the First Iowa
Regiment in1861 tune by Stephen Foster's in 1854 ("Hard Times Come Again No
More")
This
parody is a good natured complaint about the nutritious biscuits (Graham
Crackers) which were a staple of the Northern Army’s diet.
Written
by George Root in 1864
"The
Prisoner’s Hope, or Tramp, Tramp, Tramp” was one of the songs that George Root
wrote during the Civil War. George Root was a prolific songwriter. His other Civil War songs include "The
Battle Cry of Freedom", "The Vacant Chair", and "Just
Before the Battle, Mother".
Anonymous
Abraham
Lincoln died April 15, 1865 after being shot by the actor John Wilkes Booth at
Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC.
Sung (possibly lyrics composed)
by Bascomb Lamar Lunsford. He recorded it in1949, saying he heard his father
sing it when he was a boy.
Tune only.
Julia Ward Howe wrote her
famous words to the tune of "John Brown's Body" which in turn was a
parody of a camp meeting song "Say Brothers, Will You Meet Us" by
William Steffe.
National ArtsEdge Music
Standard 9: Understanding music in
relation to history and culture
The Tenting Tonight
CD presents a collection of songs many of which were written and sung during
the American Civil War. They cover a
broad spectrum of individual experiences.
Through these songs students can reach a better understanding of
soldiers and civilians on both sides of the conflict, as well as the music of
the 1860s.
This
is a code song of the Underground Railroad, the social network that helped
slaves escape to freedom. The
Underground Railroad started well before the Civil War and continued to operate
throughout the war. Code songs
communicate important information in ways that are easily memorized, yet not
accessible to all.
Texas
Tom Bigbee River
Tennessee River
Ohio River
Ohio
1)
On a map of the south-central US, trace the route by finding the Tom Bigbee
River, Tennessee River, and the Ohio River.
2)
Imagine what a day on this journey might have been like. Write a journal entry for that day. The entry might be from the beginning,
middle, or end of the journey.
A
comic song that is also poignant, this song would have had two benefits to its
singers/listeners during the Civil War.
As a comic song it would have entertained and cheered folks. At the same time the song voices some very
deep social concerns of the time: women deprived of the comfort & support
of most of the men; and the possible corruption of the induction system.
1)
Have students learn what a malapropism is, the
incorrect use of a word by substituting a similar-sounding word with different
meaning, usually with comic effect. Then have them identify the malapropisms in
this song:" puckered up" instead of “plucked up” courage,
forequarters instead of headquarters, unicorn
for uniform, provisions for visions, contented for contended, volunteer
for tear, and of course grafted instead of drafted. This last is an especially clever play on words because of the
practice of allowing money to be substituted for service.
This
song was such a powerful expression of the emotion felt by many of the soldiers
that it was one of the most popular songs for both soldiers and civilians on
both sides of the conflict. It
continues to be one of the most popular Civil War songs.
Do
you think the melody and pacing of this song enhances its emotional impact? Try singing the words with faster tempo, or
a jaunty tune.
Separation
from loved ones was a part of most people's lives during the Civil War. This eloquent song of separation and longing
was a favorite in both the north and the south.
Do
you think the melody and pacing of this song enhances its emotional
impact? Try singing the words with
faster tempo, or a jaunty tune.
A
combination of clever wording and using a very well known tune of the day, made
this ridicule of the incompetence of Union generals both memorable and more
palatable.
Richmond, VA
Manassas,
VA
Shenandoah
Valley
Norfolk,
VA
James
River
Drury's
Bluff
Hampton
Roads, VA
Williamsburg,
VA
Rappahannock
River
Take
a popular song you know and write new words about national, local, or school
politics.
Popular
songs sometimes reference earlier popular songs. This is a kind of shorthand. A quick reference to the earlier
song gives a whole new layer of meaning to the later song. The knowledge, available to many during the
Civil War, that foot soldiers used a line from "Here's Your Mule" to
taunt cavalry soldiers - occasionally to the point of causing fist-fights
- adds to the enjoyment of the second
verse of Goober Peas.
Can you think of
contemporary songs that use lyrics or have references from other popular songs?
National History
Standards, Era 5, Standard 2: The
course and character of the Civil War and it effects on the American People.
Standard 2A: The student understands how the resources of the Union and
Confederacy affected the course of the war. Standard 2B:
The student understands the
social experience of the war on the battlefield and homefront.
The Tenting Tonight
CD presents a collection of songs from and about the Civil War. Many of the songs were written and sung
during the Civil War. They cover a
broad spectrum of individual experiences from the Underground Railroad through
the assassination of President Lincoln.
Through these songs students can reach a better understanding of the
social experience of soldiers and civilians on both sides of the conflict.
This song gives insight into the complexity of the Underground Railroad, the social network that helped slaves escaping to freedom.
Texas
Tom Bigbee River
Tennessee River
Ohio River
Ohio
1)
On a map of the south-central US, trace the route by finding the Tom Bigbee
River, Tennessee River, and the Ohio River.
2)
Imagine what a day on this journey might have been like. Write a journal entry for that day. The entry might be from the beginning,
middle, or end of the journey.
This
song introduces some deep social concerns of the time: women deprived of the
comfort & support of most of the men; and the possible corruption of the
induction system. Additionally it
introduces the literary nature of the humor of the day - the use of
malapropisms.
The
song is told from the point of view of the soldier's mother. How might the young drafted soldier have
felt?
This
song was such a powerful expression of the emotion felt by many of the soldiers
that it was one of the most popular songs for both soldiers and civilians on both
sides of the conflict. It continues to
be one of the most popular Civil War songs.
Do you think there is a shift in the emotions expressed by the soldiers singing this song from verse to verse? If so, what do you think might have lead to the shift.
Separation
from loved ones was a part of most people's lives during the Civil War. This eloquent song of separation and longing
was a favorite in both the north and the south.
This
song uses the language of the 19th century to express the author's
feelings. Try "translating"
the song into modern prose.
This
song tells the story of a true incident that happened in Greencastle on June
22, 1863 a few days before the Battle of Gettysburg. It shows that on at least some occasions humanity triumphed over
political differences.
Greencastle,
PA
Gettysburg,
PA
Virginia
A skit of this incident could be helpful in exploring the social experience. Include conversation among the soldiers and/or between Jenny and her mother the next day.
This
song illustrates the fact that there was no unanimity of sentiment in many of
the states during the Civil War.
North
Carolina (Mountains)
Tennessee
Examine
the differences in topography within the state of North Carolina, and the
resultant differences in lifestyle and economics. How might these have resulted in political differences.
This
song describes six failed attempts by Union generals to take the Confederate
capital of Richmond.
Richmond,
VA
Manassas,
VA
Shenandoah
Valley
Norfolk,
VA
James
River
Drury's
Bluff
Hampton
Roads, VA
Williamsburg,
VA
Rappahannock River
1)
On a map of eastern United States have students locate the Confederate &
Union Capitals (Richmond, VA and Washington, DC), Manassas, Shenandoah Valley,
Williamsburg, James River, and Rappahannock River.
2)
Have students take one verse of the song and explain the details of the
campaigns: generals involved, tactics tried, problems, possible reasons for
failure. In the same verse explain the
various plays on words, reasons for nicknames, etc.
The
standoff battle between the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia (the Merrimac)
marked the end of the age of wooden warships and the beginning of the age of
iron clad warships.
Norfolk,
VA, origin of the Merrimac (CSS Virginia)
Hampton
Roads, just off Norfolk, where the battle took place.
Discover
the true story of that evening's events.
What details of the song are true, and which are poetic license?
This
song is a moving narrative of Lincoln's assassination.
Washington
DC, where Ford's Theater is located, was the Union capital city. It was extremely close to the Confederacy.
Discover
the true story of that evening's events.
What details of the song are true, and which are poetic license?