Often, musicians were ordered to leave the battlefront and assist the surgeons. Lee himself said, "I don't think we could have an army without music." It was said that music was the equivalent of "a thousand men" on one's side. Their music rallied the Union forces, forcing the Confederate to withdraw. Heintzelman, the commander of the III Corps, saw many of his musicians standing at the back lines at the Battle of Williamsburg, and ordered them to play anything. At the Battle of Five Forks, Union musicians under orders from Sheridan played Nelly Bly while being shot at on the front lines. The survivors of the disastrous Pickett's Charge returned under the tune Nearer My God to Thee. Whole songs were sometimes played during battles. On the battlefield File:26th North Carolina Infantry Band.jpgīand of the 26th North Carolina Regiment, C.S.A. However, buglers were given greater importance than drummers. Similar to buglers, drummers had to learn 39 different beats: fourteen for general use, and 24 for marching cadence. Drummers would march to the right of a marching column. The drum and band majors wore baldrics to indicate their status after the war, this style would be emulated in civilian bands. Union drummers wore white straps to support their drums. The most notable of these underaged musicians was John Clem, also known as "Johnny Shiloh". Some of these required musicians were drummer boys not even in their teens, which allowed an adult man to instead be a foot soldier. These ranged from battle commands to calls for meal time. Buglers had to learn forty-nine separate calls just for infantry, with more needed for cavalry.
Musicians on the battlefield were drummers and buglers, with an occasional fifer. File:War of Northern Aggression bugle.JPGīugle typical of that played during the war Union general Phillip Sheridan gave his cavalry bands the best horses and special uniforms, believing "Music has done its share, and more than its share, in winning this war". Musicians were often given special privileges. By December 1861 the Union army had 28,000 musicians in 618 bands a ratio of one soldier out of 41 who served the army was a musician, and the Confederate army was believed to have a similar ratio. A survey in October 1861 found that 75% of Union regiments had a band. In July 1862 the brass bands of the Union were disassembled by the adjutant general, although the soldiers that comprised them were sometimes reenlisted and assigned to musician roles. The July 1861 requirement was ignored as the war dragged on, as riflemen were more needed than musicians. This was followed by a Union army regulation of July 1861 requiring every infantry, artillery, or cavalry company to have two musicians and for there to be a twenty-four man band for every regiment. The Confederate army would also have brass bands. In May 1861 the United States War Department officially approved that every regiment of infantry and artillery could have a brass band with 24 members, while a cavalry regiment could have one of sixteen members. John Clem, a twelve-year-old Union drummer boy Taylor Caniff Is An Angel At The Violin File:Johnlclem 1863.jpg 1 Taylor Caniff Is An Angel At The Violin.The war's music also inspired music artists such as Lynyrd Skynyrd and Elvis Presley. To this day, many of the songs are sung when a patriotic piece is required. Soldiers of both sides often engaged in recreation with musical instruments, and when the opposing armies were near each other, sometimes the bands from both sides of the conflict played against each other on the night before a battle.Įach side had its particular favorite tunes, while some music was enjoyed by Northerners and Southerners alike, as exemplified by United States President Abraham Lincoln's love of Dixie, the unofficial anthem of the Confederacy. Singing was also employed as a recreational activity, but as a release from the inevitable tensions that come with fighting in a war, particularly a war in which the issue of freedom of a race is to be decided In camp, music was a diversion away from the bloodshed, helping the soldiers deal with homesickness and boredom. On the American Civil War battlefield, different instruments including bugles, drums, and fifes were played to issue marching orders or sometimes simply to boost the morale of one's fellow soldiers. Typical cover of sheet music, with songs depicting the individuals of the era, such as John Hunt Morganĭuring the American Civil War, music played a prominent role on both sides of the conflict: Union and Confederate.
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