{"id":217,"date":"2013-05-09T10:04:01","date_gmt":"2013-05-09T14:04:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/?p=217"},"modified":"2024-12-12T10:27:38","modified_gmt":"2024-12-12T15:27:38","slug":"civil-war-troops-sang-about-flags","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/civil-war-troops-sang-about-flags\/","title":{"rendered":"Civil War troops sang about flags"},"content":{"rendered":"

By James Breig<\/a><\/p>\n

\"historical<\/a>From its opening<\/a> days in 1861 through the Battle of Gettysburg to Appomattox, the Civil War spawned songs about flags that were intoned on both sides of the fray. Northerners sang \u201cThe Battle Cry of Freedom\u201d with its rousing chorus of \u201cRally \u2018Round the Flag, Boys,\u201d while Southerners gave out with \u201cThe Bonnie Blue Flag.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBattle Cry\u201d became so popular that the lyrics were redone so that the sheet music would sell in the Confederacy as well: \u201cOur Dixie forever! She\u2019s never at a loss!\/Down with the eagle and up with the\u00a0cross<\/a>.\/We\u2019ll rally \u2018round the bonny flag, we\u2019ll rally once again,\/Shout, shout the battle cry of Freedom!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Bonnie Blue Flag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since turn-about is fair play, \u201cThe Bonnie Blue Flag\u201d had its southern lyrics swapped out so that Union soldiers could exult: \u201cHurrah, Hurrah, for equal rights hurrah,\/Hurrah for the good old flag that bears the stripes and stars.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another flag-related tune during the War Between the States was \u201cOur Country and Flag,\u201d composed by Richard Culver.<\/p>\n

\"Fort<\/a>
Fort Sumter Flag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The sheet music was published in January 1862, less than a year after the firing on Fort Sumter, which started the conflict that would last until April 1865.<\/p>\n

The elaborate cover of the sheet music includes a scene of Sumter aflame, marching federal troops, warships, the U.S. Capitol, the Bunker Hill monument \u2013 and plenty of flags, including Old Glory, state flags and troop banners.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Bunker Hill Flag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The chorus \u2013 \u201cHurra! Hurra!\/Our country forever\/Hurra! Hurra!\/Our country and flag\u201d \u2013 was separated by stanzas like this: \u201cOur Union must stand throughout all future ages,\/enshrined in our hearts and in history\u2019s pages.\/As bought with the blood of our fathers, we cherish\/ and swear to preserve and maintain it, or perish.\u201d<\/p>\n

Culver, a professor of music, did not limit his 1862 output to just one song about the flag. He also composed the music to \u201cUnfurl the Stars and Stripes,\u201d with words by a minister: \u201cUnfurl the Stars and Stripes,\/the banner of the Free!\/With glad salutes and grateful hearts,\/With shouts of victory.\u201d<\/p>\n

(To see the sheet music for \u201cOur Country and Flag,\u201d search for \u201cRichard Culver\u201d at www.loc.gov<\/a>.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By James Breig From its opening days in 1861 through the Battle of Gettysburg to Appomattox, the Civil War spawned songs about flags that were intoned on both sides of the fray. Northerners sang \u201cThe Battle Cry of Freedom\u201d with its rousing chorus of \u201cRally \u2018Round the Flag, Boys,\u201d while Southerners gave out with \u201cThe… continue<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":219,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[59,43,60,62,61],"class_list":["post-217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-lessons","tag-bonnie-blue","tag-civil-war","tag-confederate-flag","tag-fort-sumpter","tag-union-flags"],"yoast_head":"\nFlag Related Songs from the Civil War Era<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn about tunes that were inspired by flags during the Civil War, including \u201cThe Battle Cry of Freedom,\u201d \u201cThe Bonnie Blue Flag\u201d and "Our Country and Flag."\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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