When one thinks of the American Civil War, their thoughts turn to the political turmoil and the military action, and not to song and dance. But the South, and particularly the Confederacy, produced some of the most memorable songs of the period that exist today. A close look at the patriotic songs of the South and the Confederacy reveals that they were usually written around one of three themes: the Country, the Flag, or the Heroes, all with a sprinkling of appeals to God to favor “The Cause.” The two most prolific composers of popular patriotic music of the Confederacy were Harry B. Macarthy, and John Hill Hewitt. Probably the most prolific music publishers were the Blackmar Brothers. Blackmar Brothers published first in New Orleans, and after the city’s capture, moved their publishing business to Augusta, Georgia. Well-known Southern bibliographer Richard Harwell stated it accurately: “The musical history of the South neither began nor ended with the Confederacy, but music publishing in the South reached a height during the war years that it achieved neither before nor after.” (Harwell, Richard B. Confederate Music, Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1950, 56.) The “W” numbers used here as the index numbers, are those used for cataloging, from Parrish & Willingham’s standard reference work: Confederate Imprints.
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Marshall University presents this music as a record of the past and neither endorses or supports the sentiments expressed in the music.
