Curriculum Guide for Tenting Tonight : Songs of the Civil War
Tenting Tonight: Songs of the Civil War
By Judy Cook
CD Curriculum Guide
1. Introduction to the CD
Period songs are an excellent teaching aid. They are a primary source providing a bridge to understanding the people and culture of the time. This music provides a direct, narrative, and emotional connection between the student and voices from the past.
1.1. National Education Standards
The Tenting Tonight CD supports National Educational Standards for grades 5 through 12 in the ArtsEdge (Music) and History fields.
This recording contains a unique collection of songs from and about the American Civil War presented in a straightforward, traditional, unaccompanied style. Most of the songs are primary source material, written by Americans during the 1860s about experiences that are representative of the feelings of individuals of the Civil War period.
1.2. This Document
Backgrounds for each of the sixteen songs and the three tunes on the CD, and some general suggestions for extended learning can be found in Section 2. Subsection 1.3. contains some general suggestions for preparation.
The specific National Educational Standards supported are presented in Section 3 for ArtsEdge (Music) and in Section 4 for History. These sections are organized by song. They show how the relevant songs relate to the standards, and suggest pre-and post-listening strategies for extended learning.
1.3. Suggested Preparation
Before playing the songs, the following may be helpful to students:
1.3.1. Introduce The Idea Of Unaccompanied Singing
The songs are presented in a straightforward unaccompanied style. Unaccompanied singing was much more common at the time of the Civil War than it is today, but it remains a means to motivate, entertain, and comfort one's self and others with only one's own voice. The tunes and rhythms enhance the emotions and aid the memory. The intimacy of unaccompanied singing can strengthen the connection between singer and listener.
Instruments such as fiddle, banjo, harmonica and/or concertina might have been played to accompany songs of the time if the instrument(s) were available, but unaccompanied singing was equally acceptable. The voice is always available; instruments must be carried in addition to weapons, ammunition, food, clothes and shelter.
When have you entertained, comforted, or motivated yourself or others with just your voice? Perhaps you tell jokes, sing lullabies, chant jump-rope rhymes, or rap.
1.3.2. Place The Songs Geographically
Prior to listening, it could be useful to look at a U.S. map in order to better understand the songs. Sections 3 and 4 of this document list locations for specific songs.
2. Backgrounds
This section provides known authors, dates, and general history for each of the songs on the CD. The songs and tunes are presented in the same order as they appear on the CD.
The tunes are played on an English concertina, a free-reed instrument invented by Wheatstone in England the 1830’s. It is a contemporary of the Anglo concertina invented by Honer in Germany. Both are mechanized versions of the more familiar harmonica with bellows to provide the air and buttons to control which reeds sound.
2.1. Track 1: "Follow The Drinkin’ Gourd"
A traditional song from the 1850's
In the 1850s, in Alabama, a man hired on at a slave-owning plantation, perhaps as a carpenter or a painter. While he worked he talked to the slaves, taught them the code song, and then moved on. A short time later, slaves from that plantation would disappear on the long road to freedom. The song was a code and a memory aid: it advises escaping slaves to begin their journey at the time of year when the sun begins to rise higher in the sky each day and when the quail - a migratory bird that winters in the south - is heard. Leaving at this time would most likely bring them to the Ohio River nearly a year later when it would be frozen over and could be walked across. To get to the Ohio River they must follow the Tom Bigbee River north to its headwaters, cross the hills and continue north up the Tennessee River, until it empties into the Ohio. "The Old Man", Peg Leg Joe, will be waiting there to escort them for the remainder of the trip. Using the riverbed as a road means that scents and footprints are harder to trace. Along the riverbank there are dead trees marked with the sign of a footprint and a peg leg. Overhead in the sky the big dipper, "the drinking gourd", keeps them always headed north. (Most of the traveling would have been done at night.)
2.2. Track 2: “Harriet Tubman”
By Walter Robinson, written in 1978.
Harriet Tubman was born into slavery. After freeing herself, she is believed to have conducted some 300 slaves to freedom along the Underground Railroad, that vast network of people who helped fugitive slaves.
2.3. Track 3: "Grafted Into The Army"
By Henry Clay Work, written in 1862
The Confederacy began drafting in 1862, and a year later, the Union called for all men between the ages of 18 and 45 to be available for the draft. Earlier than that, individual states had been using the draft to fulfill quotas.
“Grafted Into The Army” voices a mother's sentiments upon learning that her youngest (and only surviving) son has been drafted. But the song is funny because it is full of malapropisms.
Henry Clay Work wrote many other popular songs in the 19th century including Grandfather’s Clock” (1876).
2.4. Track 4: "Tenting Tonight"
By Walter Kittredge, written in 1863
Walter Kittredge wrote this song soon after he had been drafted into the Union army. He expected to leave for the front soon, but as it turned out he was later rejected for military service on medical grounds and never served on the battlefield.
2.5. Track 5: "Lorena"
Words by Henry Webster, tune by Joseph Webster in 1857
Lorena was one of the most popular sentimental songs, especially in the South.
The story behind the song goes back to Massachusetts in May of 1849 when Ella Blocksom broke off her engagement to a struggling young preacher named Henry Webster. Still pining after more than eight years, Webster poured out his heart in a poem. Joseph Webster composed the melody. The name “Lorena” was based on “Lost Lenore” which Henry found in the popular writings of Edgar Allen Poe.
2.6. Track 6: "Cousin Emmy’s Blues"
A traditional song from the 19th Century
This is song of good-natured rivalry between neighboring states.
Before the Civil War, there was no West Virginia, but in May 1861, less than a month after Virginia voted to secede from the Union, delegates from 27 of Virginia’s northwestern counties met to decide what to do. Ultimately they seceded back to the Union and in June 1863, West Virginia became the 35th state. Even within states, especially the Border States, there was no unanimity of sentiment. Over a third of West Virginia’s Civil War soldiers fought for the confederacy.
2.7. Track 7a: "Bonnie Blue Flag"
Tune only introducing the medley.
In the 1850's Valentine Vousden wrote a stage song "The Irish Jaunting Car". Harry Macarthy used the tune for his lyrics "The Bonnie Blue Flag" which became a rallying song for the South. "The Bonnie Blue Flag is mentioned in "Greencastle Jenny" and variants of the tune show up both there and in "Southern Girl's Reply".
2.8. Track 7b: "Greencastle Jenny"
Words by Helen Gray Cone (1859-1934) and tune by Bob Zentz 1990s
Confederate General George Pickett may be best remembered for his division's famous, tragic charge at the Battle of Gettysburg. Greencastle, PA is a small town just south and west of Gettysburg, with a main Street of Civil War era houses that survive to this day. This song tells the story of a true incident that happened in Greencastle on June 22, 1863 a few days before the Battle of Gettysburg. On that day a Union girl by the name of Dolly Harris confronted Pickett's division as they marched past her home. Pickett saluted her and the men cheered her bravery. Many poems were written about the incident. Helen Cone used the name Jenny instead of Dolly because, at the time the poem was written, Dolly was still living and Helen wanted to preserve her anonymity.
2.9. Track 7c: "Southern Girl's Reply"
Words by Pearl Rivers in 1874 using the tune from the Bonny Blue Flag (see above)
This song was collected about 1940 by Anne & Frank Warner from Eleazar Tillett on the Outer Banks of NC. The words are very close to the poem "True To the Gray," written by Pearl Rivers, and published in Allan's Lone Star Ballads in 1874.
2.10. Track 8: "Going Across The Mountain"
A traditional song of unknown ancestry
This is a song of a mountain Unionist saying farewell to his sweetheart.
When North Carolina seceded from the Union in May 1861, many mountain men were torn between loyalty to their state and disdain for the rich planters of the lowlands further east. As the war dragged on, conditions in the mountains deteriorated and many of these folks saw their only alternative as crossing over the mountains and joining the Federal Army, which by 1963 occupied large portions of nearby Tennessee.
It comes from the singing of Frank Proffitt from the mountains of western North Carolina.
2.11. Track 9: "Richmond Is A Hard Road To Travel"
Words by John R. Thompson in 1863 using a popular tune by Daniel Decatur Emmett from 1853
Quite a jaunty song that was popular during the Civil War was a minstrel song by Daniel Decatur Emmett called “Jordon is a Hard Road to Travel”. It provided the tune for many political & propaganda songs of the time, including this one, “Richmond is a Hard Road to Travel”. It was made up by John R. Thompson, editor of the Southern Literary Messenger and published therein in early 1863 when the war was still going reasonably well for the Confederacy. This patter song documents six failed attempts by the Union army to take Richmond
2.12. Track 10: "Battle Cry of Freedom"
Tune only. Written by George Root in 1864
2.13. Track 11: "Monitor & Merrimac"
Anonymous from the1860s
Written during the Civil War, this broadside ballad of the famous battle that began the age of ironclad ships has more Yankee swagger than either truth or art.
Two men are mentioned in the song: John Ericsson who designed the Monitor, and John Worden who was her captain.
2.14. Track 12: "Here's Your Mule"
Written by C.D. Benson in 1862
This is a comical song about a man who comes to camp to sell his wares, but foolishly lets his mule disappear - probably “conscripted into the service of the Confederacy”. The song was very popular with General John Bell Hood’s Texas Brigade. The men in the Texas Brigade would use the phrase from the song "Here’s your mule" to taunt or banter with the cavalrymen. Apparently the Texans were successful in rousing the cavalrymen on an occasion or two as this story from the Texas Brigade illustrates.
On June 8, 1863 Hood brought his infantry division to a grand review of Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry at Brandy Station. Fearful that Hood's Texans might use the occasion to mock the cavalrymen as they paraded by, Gen. Fitzhugh Lee warned Hood not to allow his men to yell, ``Here's your mule!'' Gen. Wade Hampton also warned Hood that his command would charge any disrespectful Texans. Exercising unprecedented restraint, the Texans behaved like gentlemen throughout the dandy occasion.
2.15. Track 13: "Goober Peas"
Anonymous; words attributed to A. Pindar and tune to P. Nutt, esq when published in 1866
When food became scarce in the south, soldiers began eating peanuts. Before the war, peanuts were most often eaten by cows and pigs.
Since pindars and goober peas are both slang terms for peanuts, no-one apparently wanted to claim responsibility for this good natured complaint about a staple of Southern camp diet.
The previous song, “Here’s Your Mule” explains a lot about the second verse of “Goober Peas.”
2.16. Track 14: "Hard Crackers"
Words by the First Iowa Regiment in1861 tune by Stephen Foster's in 1854 ("Hard Times Come Again No More")
This parody is a good natured complaint about the nutritious biscuits (Graham Crackers) which were a staple of the Northern Army’s diet.
2.17. Track 15: "Tramp Tramp Tramp"
Written by George Root in 1864
"The Prisoner’s Hope, or Tramp, Tramp, Tramp” was one of the songs that George Root wrote during the Civil War. George Root was a prolific songwriter. His other Civil War songs include "The Battle Cry of Freedom", "The Vacant Chair", and "Just Before the Battle, Mother".
2.18. Track 16: "Booth Killed Lincoln"
Anonymous
Abraham Lincoln died April 15, 1865 after being shot by the actor John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC. Sung (possibly lyrics composed) by Bascomb Lamar Lunsford. He recorded it in1949, saying he heard his father sing it when he was a boy.
2.19. Track 17: "Battle Hymn of the Republic"
Tune only.
Julia Ward Howe wrote her famous words to the tune of "John Brown's Body" which in turn was a parody of a camp meeting song "Say Brothers, Will You Meet Us" by William Steffe.
3. ArtsEdge (Music) Standards, Relevance & Strategies
3.1. Standard Addressed
National ArtsEdge Music Standard 9: Understanding music in relation to history and culture
3.2. Objective
The Tenting Tonight CD presents a collection of songs many of which were written and sung during the American Civil War. They cover a broad spectrum of individual experiences. Through these songs students can reach a better understanding of soldiers and civilians on both sides of the conflict, as well as the music of the 1860s.