The American Civil War was fought on a continent where people shared backgrounds, customs, and language. In the nineteenth century the United States was considered among the most literate nations in the world. During the widespread conflict which stretched across five Aprils, its citizens left behind volumes of letters, diaries, journals, speeches, poems, reminiscences, and songs.

More than three million Americans fought in the Civil War, and over 600,000 men, women, and children died in it (roughly two percent of the population). The war raged in over 10,000 locations, and virtually no American family was left unscathed.

It is my fascination with the music of the period which draws me deeper and deeper into researching the era. More music was written during the American Civil War than during any other time of national mobilisation, yet few songs remain familiar in today's world. Every possible emotion was displayed in the music of the period, from sincere grief and longing to maudlin sentimentality written specifically for commercial reasons.

For the Civil War afficionado, this page features articles, links to music and period research, and resources for fellow collectors.

THE MAN WHO LOST THE CIVIL WAR
I was fortunate to be a part of the Rick Creese Productions documentary The Man Who Lost the Civil War. Released on video in March 2002 by the University of New Mexico Press, this film was also featured by the Southern Lens film festival on SCETV (South Carolina Educational Television) in October 2002.

My composition, Glorieta, was used in an instrumental version over the opening credits and as incidental music. With lyrics by Rick Creese, a vocal version of the theme was used over the closing credits. Right click the links below and choose "save target as" for free audio downloads of music written for this entertaining and educational film:

The newly released extended collector's edition of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly features 15 minutes of film compiled from the documentary The Man Who Lost the Civil War. My theme song Glorieta effectively bookends the piece: the vocal version is heard behind silent titles in the beginning, then as underscore to the opening, followed by the instrumental version over the opening credits, with the vocal heard again at the end of this special feature found on disc 2 (track 3). Although I do not receive an onscreen credit, the segment does advertise the availability of the video, which is mentioned in the article below.

ARTICLES
new! Pictorial Essay: A few period musical images.

Sullivan Ballou and the Ashokan Farewell: Although written nearly 120 years after the end of the American Civil War this lyrical fiddle tune has become a symbol of both the ongoing, and renewed, fascination with the period. It is appropriate that this is the inaugural article for this page as Major Ballou's words have already stood the test of time, while the Ashokan Farewell has served to revive, and inspire, continued interest in our nation's history for the past fifteen years.

Suggested References and Resources: This is an annotated guide to books, print music, and recordings useful in building a Civil War music library.

COLLECTORS/DEALERS
Reb Acres: S. Coleman & Co. carries a wide range of antiques for the beginning to the seasoned collector including sheet music, instruments, and items pertaining to musicians.

CREATIVE WRITING
Reenactment: A short poem by Jane Ellen published in 2001 by the International Library of Poetry.

LINKS
Band Music from the Civil War Era: The Music Division at the Library of Congress sponsors this site with a historical overview of the instruments and period brass band music in general, photographs, scores, and recordings. This site will take you hours to explore, but is well worth your time.

The Civil War Homepage: This is a resource center of over 1000 Civil War sites including letters, diaries, music, people, unit information, battles and more.

The Civil War Music Site: This site contains everything from fife tunes to song lyrics to photographs of Civil War bands.

Historic American Sheet Music: A project of the Digital Scriptorium at Duke University, this website contains American sheet music grouped by decades. You may view covers and all individual pages, and you may download the songs for scholarship and personal research. This link will take you directly to sheet music from 1860-1869.

Mid-Nineteenth Century Popular Music: Music historian and reenactor Jerry Ernst, who has five Civil War CDs to his credit, has done outstanding research on the songs of the Civil War period.

Poetry and Music of the War Between the States: Here is a tremendous resource maintained by Kathie Fraser which includes indices of titles, authors and first lines.

Reb Acres Articles of Interest: This is a collection of well-documented and fascinating articles on various aspects of the Civil War, including Civil War Music, hosted by S. Coleman & Co. at Reb Acres.