Interesting to see this again. Since this thread was started (1999) our band did a "Songs of the Civil War Era" concert in 2003 and released the live recording as a CD minus all the thunderous applause and scintillating commentary! We covered songs popular during the "War Between the States" as well as a few songs written about the war in later years. There are familiar soldier songs from the period along with sentimental ballads, hymns and popular songs of the past and present, representing both the Union and the Confederacy.

Here's the song list and partial liner notes:

ShoreGrass Songs of the Civil War Era

1. Soldier's Joy (Traditional, 1760) 2:18 First published as sheet music in 1760, this song was a popular marching tune during the Revolutionary War, continued during the Civil War and people still play it today.

2. Hard Times (Stephen Foster, 1855) 4:23 Foster was an ardent unionist from Pennsylvania who lived from 7/4/1826 to 1/13/1864. His songs were popular through this period. Vocals: Paul Pozzi, the Shaws (harmony).

3. Battle Cry of Freedom (George F. Root, 1862) 1:59 George Root was a prolific writer from Sheffield, MA who wrote this widely popular song in 1862. It was parodied and also sung in the South in 1864. Both North ("union forever") and South ("rights forever") versions are sung here.

4. Dixie (Daniel Decatur Emmett, 1859) 3:40 Written in 1859 for the Northern minstrel stage, it was an instant hit on both sides. It was played at Jefferson Davis' inauguration in 1861, and Emmett, a unionist, was not pleased.

5. Two Little Boys (Edward Madden, Theodore Morse, 1903) 2:44 This song was possibly based on an earlier poem about the Civil War. A contemporary version was done by Charlie Waller.

6. Lorena (J.P. & H.D. Webster, 1857) 4:33 This song was popular in both the north and the south during the Civil War because it carried soldiers away from the drudgery and nightmare of the war. It was banned by generals on both sides because it made the men so homesick they didn't want to fight. The sad lyrics were originally written as a poem by a jilted Universalist pastor named Henry DeLafayette Webster, and the melody was supplied by his friend Joseph Philbrick Webster (no relation). After the war, Southern girls were frequently named Lorena.

7. Battle Hymn of the Republic (William Steffe & Julia Ward Howe, 1862) 2:51 Originally a Methodist song "Say brothers will you meet us on Canaan's happy shore?" Then came "John Brown's Body" about an abolitionist from VA hung for starting a slave uprising in Harpers Ferry. Next two verses were sung by the 1st Arkansas black regiment. Last two verses came to Julia Ward Howe in 1862 in a dream.

8. He Leadeth Me (Joseph Gilmore, 1862 & William Bradbury, 1864) 2:10 Based on the 23rd Psalm, these words were written during the darkest hours of the war.

9. Shall We Gather at the River (Robert Lowry, 1864) 2:25 Lowry was a Baptist minister from Brooklyn, NY who wrote this and 500 other songs.

10. The Yellow Rose of Texas (J.K., 1853) 2:07 They say the original Yellow Rose was an indentured servant, the "high yellow" Emily Morgan from New Haven, CT. She kept the Mexican general Santa Ana dallying so long that his leaderless men lost the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836 to Sam Houston, during the Mexican-American war for Texas independence. No one knows who J.K. was.

11. Oh Susanna (Stephen Foster, 1848) 1:41 Foster wrote this popular minstrel song in 1848 and it remains standard folk fare.

12. Goober Peas (Traditional) 1:44 This popular Confederate camp song is about old-fashioned peanuts, which were the short rations on which the rebel soldiers often subsisted in the waning days of the war.

13. Vacant Chair (G.F. Root & H.S. Washburn, 1861) 5:06 Henry Washburn wrote a poem about Lt. John William Grout ("our noble Willie") of the 15th MA Volunteer Infantry, who died at the Battle of Balls Bluff, VA in October, 1861. His death turned into an allegory at Thanksgiving the following month, when this poem laid bare the anguish of Grout's family at his absence from the family dinner. Washburn's verse found a sympathetic melody at the hands of the prolific songwriter George Root.

14. When the Roses Bloom Again (Cobb & Edwards, 1901) 4:19 Written long after the Civil War, but the uniform was blue and could have been about this war.

15. Follow the Drinking Gourd (Traditional) 3:00 A code song based on the Underground Railroad activities of Peg Leg Joe, a "conductor." He traveled to plantations as a handy man and gave secret instructions about a trail he marked with his peg leg for heading north by following the handle of the Big Dipper (the drinking gourd) pointing north to the Ohio River and ultimately freedom in the north.

16. Boston Boy (Traditional, 1885) 2:38 This traditional song was collected in Kentucky and Arkansas, and was also known as "Two Soldiers," recorded by many.

17. Faded Coat of Blue (J.H. McNaughton, 1865) 4:34 This mournful dirge, also known as "The Nameless Grave," was written in the waning days of the war in 1865. It expressed the feelings of tens of thousands of families throughout the war-torn land.

18. Have Someone Play Dixie For Me (Pete Roy) 4:07 This is a contemporary song written about the war from a southern perspective, showing the undying loyalty to the homeland.

19. I'm A Good Old Rebel (Major Innes Randolph, 1865) 1:44 This song was written by an officer in the CSA in the style of a semiliterate "unreconstructed" rebel. It is a song of defiance and bitter resentment toward Reconstruction, to the tune of the old wild western melody "Joe Bowers."

20. Home Sweet Home Theme (Payne & Bishop, 1823) :27 One of the most popular songs ever written, this was a continuing favorite during the Civil War. One night during the war, along the banks of the Potomac River, a group of soldiers took up this refrain. Suddenly this melody, so popular and familiar to both sides, came drifting from both sides of the Potomac. The two armies stopped their killing for the length of a song to share a common emotion.