Cat gut stings? I think not! My 1897 Washburn, and Chester (left).
Part 1: The instruments
Authenticity in Camp Music
Cat gut stings? I think not! My 1897 Washburn, and Chester (left).
Part 1: The instruments
Music in camps : The Instruments
I have been asked to put together a few thoughts on musical impressions, a favorite subject of mine. I will do this in two parts, covering the instruments first, then song hunting second. Bell Irwin Wiley, in "The Life of Billy Yank," lists singing second only to reading as the soldier's favorite pastimes. This alone makes it worthwhile to pursue doing it right.
There are a number of reference volumes on musical instruments, available at any music school library, and many metropolitan library systems as well. We need not rely solely on photographic evidence. Checking the references, many of the articles in books such as the 'New Grove American Music' are based on such first hand data as factory records, sheet music sales records, and other period records.
More period information can be gleaned from the manuals written to instruct students. Such manuals are available for guitar, banjo, violin, accordion, and more. More and more period manuals are being reproduced and distributed through music suttlers.
While I am not an expert on this subject, I will share what I've found from various sources, and my thoughts for what they're worth.
The violin: This is probably the most mentioned instrument for camp life. It is also mentioned in the most heart rendering stories… the soldier who marched off to battle with his violin slung over his shoulder so he can die by its sweet strains…. He is found dead after the battle, under a tree, violin cradled in his arms. Another soldier, upon hearing he will lose his leg, requests a violin. He plays while the leg is removed without anesthesia, and never skips a note.
Overall, gut strings would be preferred, and the style is reported to be simple. Double stopping was rare (playing more than one string at a time) and vibrato was minimal. Violins have changed little, so most any acoustic violin will do.
The Banjo: The undisputed hot instrument of the era. This was to minstrel music what the electric guitar is to rock. And minstrel music was to 19th century America what rock has been to the second half of the 20th century.
One can find evidence of fretted, machine headed banjos during the war, including patent drawings. But far more common, and still preferred by top players, was the fretless peg headed 'minstrel' style banjo. Frets on banjos go back to the 1840s, but were not common due to split fret arrangements, and the feeling that they slowed play.
If you have a turn-of-the-century model banjo you can get by OK. If you want to play banjo and don't have one, go right for a reproduction. A basic model costs about the same as a musket. A little more gets you some adjustment, good for somewhat damp evenings. There are a handful of makers and can be found on the net, or ask around.
The guitar: Period guitars were small, usually had slotted heads (the only alternative I've seen is an F head like early banjos), figure 8 shaped (look at a modern one now: they are rectangular in comparison), did not have a pick guard (no picks were used) and in the US in the 1860's: had gut strings. Steel strings, according to instrument maker and dealer information, became available in 1890. The bracing required was new at that time, so the steel strings could only be put on new guitars built for them (a lesson still worth noting today). These guitars are only slightly different from period models. They are more available than period guitars and can be a reasonable alternative to modern guitars, which should not be in camps. A small classical guitar can be modified as a more expendable instrument that will do. My opinion is that there is minimal difference between nylon, steel, and gut strings if they are played properly. Only a pick brings out the brightness of steel. I say use what the guitar was made for to avoid damage and to get the best volume and sound.
To clarify on strings: There were guitars with steel strings at the time of the Civil War, but they were the smaller yet Latin and South American guitars. Mandolins and other small instruments did have wire or steel strings. But for absolute correctness, steel on a standard American guitar was not used then.
Playing style can be learned from period manuals in some libraries, or from period sheet music, a good bit of it was written for guitar. Strings were plucked by finger, not picked or strummed in the modern folk sense. This was a genteel parlor instrument, not a rhythm instrument. This means plucking, not strumming.
The Mandolin: Mandolins are like vivandiers: They are period, look and sound nice, and any event of more than 500 participants has more of each than existed during the entire war.
Mandolins in America date back to the late colonial period. However they were not a common instrument until well after the Civil War. Until the 20th century, when they started being used in folk music and hillbilly bands, mandolins were the Neapolitan or bow backed variety, resembling a small lute.
Hammered Dulcimer: Hammered dulcimers were in use before the 1830's, and while they were usually built my local craftsmen and players, by the 1850's and 60's they were built in a few factories as well. But the question is, how did it get to camp? Civilians, doing a local community type concert presentation. may hammer away with impunity. A soldier would do just was well to bring a piano to camp.
Mountain dulcimers are not considered to be period, but I really don't know. Psalters and other small stringed instruments were certainly around. Folk instruments, like folk songs, change over time, so without evidence to support their use, and 'old time' instrument can't necessarily be considered period.
Others: Concertinas, which play like a harmonica (different notes in and out) are lovely, period, and a welcome sound in any camp. Just go for a wooden one, at least avoid obvious plastic.
Harmonicas: Don't buy one at an event for one reason: they are all in the key of C, incompatible with nearly all other instruments and nearly all voices for nearly all songs. My first choice would be a G, second a D. Some folks are picky about how they look. Keep it small, and keep your hands around it, and you'll do OK.
Tambourines and bones were the minstrel mainstays for rhythm, tin whistles and jaw harps were around, and perfect for on the march, as the other instruments did not show up until the supply wagons caught up.
Part 3: The songs
Just what songs were the soldiers singing? The answers vary by a great degree, but in general, the research has already been done, and tabulated nicely in Bell Irwin Wiley's "The Life of Billy Yank" and "The Life of Johnny Reb." Add to this list titles taken from any collection of letters, diary, or regimental history and you have quite a collection of titles. There is no doubt that in one form or another, these are authentic songs.
There are two very popular and very poor sources of titles: internet sites and recordings. Web sites are only as good as the source material listed right on the site. A few are very good, most are not. Recordings are largely misunderstood by reenactors. There is an assumption that because the players wear period attire (to some extent) and play period songs (to some extent) that they are authentic. Fact is most are either doing some post war material, or post war variations of period songs. Even more use unauthentic instruments and styles. I am in no way knocking recording artists, who provide wonderful entertainment and make this era popular. I enjoy artists and songs that do not belong in camp. A few are nearly perfect in style and content. Soundtracks generally provide some of the least authentic music.
There are a variety of modern songbooks featuring Civil War era music. These too range from good to poor. If a book does not list the references for its sources, then do not touch it. If it does, read them carefully. You can find for instance, that the version of Pat Murphy that nearly everyone has recorded is a compilation of original sources. Only one recent recording has the original lyrics intact, titled as Pat Murphy of Meagher's Brigade, the period title. Pat Murphy of the Irish Brigade is a 1960's re-write. "Everybody's Dixie" is another compilation with a modern title. This helps trace a recording artist or two back to a particular songbook, which does not have any references listed. The "historical" notes from that book, in turn, can be traced (by mistakes in the notes) to a text book on CW music, which again lists no sources.
Not everything about the war is from the war. There are books that are tantalizing in suggesting that they are collections of songs sung by one army or the other. Usually published around the following turn of the century, they must be taken with a large grain of salt. While the country in general was ready to forget the war and publishing houses moved on to happier themes, veterans continued to churn out songs for another 50 years or so after the war. Many battle ballads may have been written like this, growing as folk songs in various parts of the country. Some may actually date back to the war, but as they are not published until much later it is impossible to know how authentic they are. Other forms of post war songs include GAR fun songs (Army Bean) reminiscence songs (Faded Coat of Blue) and the occasional commercial flop (Poor Kitty Popcorn) from writers who wanted to make sure every cent had been wrung out of the Civil War genre.
Luckily, one can easily find hundreds of period songs, including many from the shopping list compiled in the first paragraph of this article. Many libraries have rare book collections that include period song books. Some even have sheet music collections. Period Sunday school song books are available, I've even seen them on the open shelves. Microfilm should not be overlooked, and there are some whole songsters available in this format, as well as sheet music. Another format common during the 19th century was bound collections. These were private sheet music collections brought to book binders and sewn into a nice leather cover. Overall libraries from Universities with music schools are going to have the best collections. A few universities now have web sites which allow you to search and view sheet music right on the screen. Only a couple years after I did searches by hand, these allow the same information in a small fraction of the time, and with hundreds of miles less travel.
Broadsides (penny sheets) are a good source of material except for two limitations: They contain only the words (same with nearly all songsters) and they almost never have publishing dates. City directories can be used to confirm a publisher's existence at that time, but unless they move during the war they can not always prove authenticity. For my own purposes, I have decided that broadsides about the war are most probably current to the war. This is because of the great drop in interest after the war of war songs. I feel this is a safe bet, although it is open for disagreement.
Sheet music vs. songster has been debated, as well as which is an original version of a song. Lucky for us, we only care if a song is period correct, not if it was the first or most popular version. As a result there may be many versions of a song that are OK for reenactors. Dates on sheet music can be misleading in eliminating songs from our play list. One can find Wearing of the Green with an 1866 copyright date, and assume that it is not period. I have seen the same song with three verses dated 1864. The reason is that a minor change in the music, or even a change in punctuation or cover art may warrant an new date.
A good collection of songs for a regiment should have more than military songs. Few of these were popular, while many sentimental, minstrel, opera, religious, other songs were sung often by soldiers. Generally, songs about the war were sung by the civilians and lampooned by the soldiers. Notable exceptions were "Just Before the Battle, Mother" and "When This Cruel War is Over" while the main Northern rally song was "Battle Cry of Freedom." "Glory Hallelujah! (John Brown)" was a favorite march.
Confederate martial songs were mainly "Dixie's Land," "Maryland My Maryland," and "Bonnie Blue Flag." Otherwise sentimental romantic ballads were the big favorites.
A final point bears mentioning, even though it should be obvious. Songs from sometime during the war do not make it right for anytime during the war. Doing an 1861 or 1862 impression eliminates a great number of songs. Ignoring this can bite us. At the Gettysburg 135th a fife and drum corps played "Marching Through Georgia" following Pickett's Charge. This was recognized by a reporter and the AP article the next day mentioned it. Ouch.
Jerry Ernst, 140th NY, amateur song collector.