They would most certainly have played this tune (and sung the song) during the Civil War. It was one of the favorite "campfire songs" among both the Union and Confederate armies. You might be interested in contacting this group Southern Horizon . They have recorded "Shenandoah" and did quite a bit of research on the version that was probably current during the Civil War. Their CD's would probably be quite reasonably priced, given the weakened state of the US dollar, and would be a good musical resource for you.