Overview
Music was everywhere during the Civil War. Tunes could be heard ringing out from parlour pianos, thundering at political rallies, and setting the rhythms of military and domestic life. With literacy still limited, music was an important vehicle for communicating ideas about the war, and it had a lasting impact in the decades that followed. Drawing on an array of published and archival sources, Christian McWhirter analyses the myriad ways music influenced popular culture in the years surrounding the war and discusses its deep resonance for both whites and blacks, South and North. Though published songs of the time have long been catalogued and appreciated, McWhirter is the first to explore what Americans actually said and did with these pieces. By gauging the popularity of the most prominent songs and examining how Americans used them, McWhirter returns music to its central place in American life during the nation's greatest crisis. The result is a portrait of a war fought to music.
Full Product Details
Author: Christian McWhirter
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press
Edition: New edition
Dimensions:
Width: 16.10cm
, Height: 2.10cm
, Length: 23.30cm
Weight: 0.456kg
ISBN: 9781469613673
ISBN 10: 1469613670
Pages: 336
Publication Date: 28 February 2014
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Manufactured on demand
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.
Reviews
A detailed and thorough account invaluable to students of the Civil War and American cultural history. -- The North Carolina Historical Review
A welcome addition to the historiography of the Civil War and the music of the period.-- The Annals of Iowa
In this marvelous study of the production and consumption of music of the Civil War, Christian McWhirter enriches our understanding of the soundscapes of America's bloodiest conflict. It is a deeply researched and beautifully executed examination of a curiously understudied aspect of the war. --Mark M. Smith, author of Listening to Nineteenth-Century America
General Robert E. Lee once stated: 'I don't see how we could have an army without music.' McWhirter has done as excellent job of opening our eyes and our ears to why this was so.-- Indiana Magazine of History
A wealth of practical information on who composed what, when, and under what circumstances. [McWhirter's] discovery of minute details concerning the origins of popular Civil War songs constitutes a real contribution to this area of specialization. -- Civil War Book Review
Author Information
Christian McWhirter is assistant editor for the Papers of Abraham Lincoln in Springfield, Illinois, USA.
