Songs of the American Civil War Quiz

Answer: The Battle Hymn of the Republic

"Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord / He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored."

After John Brown led an abortive raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859, he became a hero to many northern abolitionists. Brown was hanged on December 2, 1859, and a song about him, "John Brown's Body," became popular during the early days of the Civil War. Julia Ward Howe heard soldiers singing this song during a visit to Washington, D.C., and rewrote the lyrics (she also slightly changed the melody). "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" was published in "The Atlantic Monthly" in February, 1862 and immediately became one of the most popular Union songs of the war. It remains popular today.

Answer: Daniel Decatur Emmett

"Oh, I wish I was in the land of cotton / Old times there are not forgotten / Look way, look away, look away, Dixie Land!"

Although others have claimed authorship, it is generally agreed that the famous song, "Dixie," was written by Daniel Decatur Emmett around 1859. He sold the rights to the song for a mere $300 in 1861. Emmett was a well-known writer of songs for minstrel shows, a popular form of entertainment during his day.

Both sides in the Civil war wrote new lyrics to the song to reflect their patriotic leanings; perhaps the most famous of these changed the words "look away" to "To arms! To arms! To arms in Dixie!" It is said that upon learning of Robert E. Lee's surrender, Abraham Lincoln asked the White House band to play "Dixie."

Answer: Marching Through Georgia

"Hurrah! Hurrah! We bring the Jubilee / Hurrah! Hurrah! The flag that sets you free / So we sang the chorus from Atlanta to the sea / While we were marching through Georgia."

"Marching Through Georgia" became one of the most popular songs in the North towards the end of the Civil War. The song is still unpopular in the South, particularly in Georgia. President Jimmy Carter earned several demerits at the U.S. Naval Academy by refusing to sing the song, even though ordered to do so by upperclassmen. Work also wrote "My Grandfather's Clock," and "The Ship That Never Returned." The latter was recycled as "Charlie on the MTA" by the Kingston Trio.

Answer: Maryland, My Maryland

"The despot's heel is on thy shore, Maryland! My Maryland! / His torch is at thy temple door, Maryland, My Maryland!"

Maryland would almost certainly have seceded from the Union if Abraham Lincoln had not ordered Federal troops to occupy the state. On April 16, 1861 members of the 6th Massachusetts Volunteers fired upon a crowd of people protesting their occupation of the state. Twelve innocent civilians were killed. James Ryder Randall, a native Marylander living in Louisiana when the massacre took place, wrote a poem about the incident. It was set to the tune of "O Tannenbaum," a German Christmas carol, by the Cary sisters of Baltimore. In addition to "despot," the song refers to Abraham Lincoln as a "tyrant" and "Vandal," and calls the occupying troops "Northern scum." "Maryland, My Maryland" was adopted by Maryland as its state song on April 29, 1939. When the song is sung annually at the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore, the second (and noncontroversial verse) is usually chosen.

Answer: False

"The men will cheer and the boys will shout / The ladies they will all turn out / And we'll all feel gay when Johnny comes marching home."

"When Johnny Comes Marching Home" was written by Irish-American composer Patrick Gilmore in 1863. It is set to the tune of a popular drinking song called "Johnny Fill Up the Bowl." "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye," is not really a folk song at all. It was written by Joseph Bryan Geoghegan in 1867 - four years after "When Johnny Comes Marching Home." The two songs are often sung to the same tune.

Answer: The Bonnie Blue Flag

"We are a band of brothers, native to the soil / We fight for our liberty with treasure, blood and toil / And when our rights were threatened, the cry rose near and far / Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star!"

The lyrics to this lively song were written by Harry McCarthy in early 1861, and were set to the tune of "The Irish Jaunting Car." The "Bonnie Blue Flag" refers to an early Confederate flag that consisted of a single white star on a blue background. The flag soon fell out of use, but the song endured throughout the war. The second line was originally, "Fighting for the property we gained by honest toil." Like nearly all Civil War era songs, there some variations in the lyrics. In both the novel and the movie of "Gone With the Wind," Rhett and Scarlett name their daughter Bonnie Blue.

Answer: Aura Lea

"Aura Lea, Aura Lea, Maid with golden hair; / Sunshine came along with thee, And swallows in the air."

"Aura Lea" (sometimes spelled "Aura Lee") was written by W. W. Fosdick and George R. Poulton just before the Civil War began. It was a popular tune with both Union and Confederate troops. Some 95 years later, composer Ken Darby rewrote the lyrics for the Elvis Presley movie, "Love Me Tender." Elvis first performed the new version of the song on "The Ed Sullivan Show" on September 9, 1956.

Answer: The Battle Cry of Freedom

"Yes, we'll rally round the flag, boys, we'll rally once again,
 / Shouting the battle cry of freedom, / 
We will rally from the hillside, we'll gather from the plain, / 
Shouting the battle cry of freedom!"

"The Battle Cry of Freedom" was written by the prolific composer George F. Root for a war rally in Chicago in 1862. It was an immediate hit, and it is estimated that as many as 750,000 copies of the sheet music to the song were sold during the Civil War. The song was prominently featured in Ken Burns' documentary, "The Civil War." Confederate troops quickly came up with their own version of the song,

Answer: Peanuts

"Sitting by the roadside on a summer's day, chatting with my messmates, passing time away, / Lying in the shadow underneath the trees, goodness how delicious, eating goober peas!"

Goober peas are peanuts, specifically boiled peanuts, Near the end of the Civil War Confederate troops were often on short rations, and goober peas became a staple of their diet. "Goober Peas" is one of the few popular Civil War songs whose author is unknown. When it was first published in 1866, after the war was over, the writer was credited as "P. Nutt, Esq."

Answer: The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

"Virgil Kane is the name / And I served on the Danville train, / 'Till Stoneman's cavalry came / And tore up the tracks again."

"The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," was actually written by Canadian songwriter Robbie Robertson of The Band. It was released as the B-side of their single "Up On Cripple Creek" in 1969. In 1971, it was recorded by Joan Baez, who changed some of the lyrics. Baez's version of the song reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US, and was also a hit in the United Kingdom. It has since been covered by many other artists. "Rolling Stone" magazine ranked it number 245 on its list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.