Civil War songs covered numerous subjects and were used for a wide variety of reasons. The military even used them as signals. Songs also expressed the wide range of emotions caused by the war.
Most familiar to 21st Century listeners are “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” “Dixie,” and “When Johnny Comes Marching Home.”
Many were recycled versions of existing songs—church hymns, negro spirituals or favorites from minstrel shows--with changed words. Well known poems were set to music and there were numerous original compositions.
Civil War Songs About Mothers and Girlfriends
Many songs were about mothers and girlfriends. Here are some of those titles.
- "After the Battle, Mother." Philadelphia: J. H. Johnson. (Flip side: "Just Before the Battle, Mother")
- "Be My Mother Till I Die" by Elmer Ruan Coates. Philadelphia: Sep. Winner's Music Store.
- "Just Before the Battle, Mother" by George F. Root. [Philadelphia] J. L. Becker. (Flip side: "After the Battle, Mother")
- "Mother, is the Battle Over." Philadelphia: A. W. Auner.
- "Mother's Waiting for Her Soldier Boy." Philadelphia: Johnson.
- "The Girl I Left Behind Me" by John L. Zieber. Philadelphia, J. H. Johnson. 2 editions.
Songs About Soldiers
Nearly half of the songs concerned soldiers. These are a few of those titles.
- "Brave Boys Are They." Chicago: H. M. Higgins.
- "Bowld Sojer Boy" by Samuel Lover. Philadelphia: A. W. Auner.
- "Grafted (sic) Into the Army" by Henry C. Work. Philadelphia: Johnson. (Flip side: "With Battle Cry of Freedom")
- "Johnny is Gone for a Soldier." Philadelphia: J. H. Johnson. (*)
- "On! On! On! The Boys Came Marching! "or, "The Prisoner Free!" by Geo. F. Root. Philadelphia: Johnson.
- "Prisoner's Hope. Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!" by George F. Root. Philadelphia: A. W. Auner.
- "Sherman's Bonny Boys in Blue" by H. Angelo. Philadelphia: A. W. Auner, c1865.
- "Soldier's Funeral." Philadelphia: J. H. Johnson. (*)
- "Uncle Sam's Boys" by H. Angelo.
- "Yankee Boys So Handy, O!" by Stoopofero. Philadelphia: Johnson.
Songs About the Flag
Songs about the flag were popular with both soldiers and civilians. Here are some titles.
- "Battle Cry of Freedom, or, We'll Rally Round the Flag, Boys." Philadelphia: Johnson.
- "Bonnie Blue Flag." Philadelphia: J. H. Johnson.
- "Flag of Fort Sumter." Philadelphia: Auner.
- "Flag of Our Union Forever" by General George P. Morris. Philadelphia: Johnson.
- "Flag of the Free." Philadelphia: Johnson.
- "The Flag With the Thirty Four Stars."
- "Hoist up the Flag" by Billy Holmes. Philadelphia: J. H. Johnson
- "I Loved that Dear Old Flag the Best!" by Ednor Rossiter. Philadelphia: Lee & Walker.
- "Our Battle-Flag" by Edward Willett.
- "Our Flag is There." Philadelphia: A. W. Auner.
- "Rally Around the Good Old Flag" by John Dyer. Philadelphia: Johnson.
- "Stand by the Flag." Philadelphia: Johnson.
- "Up With the Flag, Long May It Wave."
Other Civil War Songs
Other Civil War songs were devoted to specific battles, or named heroic officers. Some were about Yankees and others had southern themes. The most popular was “The Battle Cry of Freedom”. At one time its publisher had 14 printing presses running and couldn’t keep up with the demand. Roughly 700,00 copies of it were circulated.
Nearly all of the above titles are from the special collections section of the Oberlin College Library. This collection contains approximately 100 lyric sheets, some with printed illustrations.
Some of the tunes to go with the lyrics can be found in the MIDI files compiled by Benjamin Robert Tubb at Public Domain Music.
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