Battle Hymns: The Power and Popularity of Music in the Civil War

6. The Choked Voice of a Race, at Last Unloosed: African Americans and Civil War Music

{ 137 } CHAPTER 6 THE CHOKED VOICE OF A RACE, AT LAST UNLOOSED AFRICAN AMERICANS AND CIVIL WAR MUSIC Say Darkeys, hab you seen de massa, wid de muffstash on his face, Go long de road some time dis morin’, like he gwine to leab de place? He seen a smoke way up de ribber, whar de Linkum gumboats lay; He took his hat, an lef’ berry sudden, an’ I spec he’s run away! Chorus De massa run? ha, ha! De darkey stay? ho, ho! It mus’ be now de kingdom comin’, An’ de year ob Jubilo! He six foot one way, two foot tudder, an’ he way tree hundred pound, His coat so big, he couldn’t pay de tailor, an’ it won’t go half way round. He drill so much dey call him Cap’an, an’ he got so drefful tann’d, I spec he try an’ fool dem Yankees for to tink he’s contraband. Chorus De darkeys feel so lonesome libbing in de loghouse on de lawn, Dey move dar tings to massa’s parlor for to keep it while he’s gone. Dar’s wine an’ cider in de kitchen, an’ de darkey’s dey’ll hab some; I spose dey’ll all be confiscated when de Linkum sojers come. Chorus De oberseer he make us trouble, an’ he dribe us round a spell; We lock him up in de smokehouse cellar, wid de key trown in de well. De whip is lost, de han’cuff broken, but de massa’ll hab his pay; He’s ole enough, big enough, ought to known better dan to went an’ run away. Chorus —HENRY CLAY WORK, “Kingdom Coming,” 1862 138 } The Choked Voice of a Race Although Civil War soldiers and civilians used music effectively and often, no one better understood its power than African Americans.With widespread illiteracya fact of slave life, oral transmission of information was vital. Blacks knew that plain talk about freedom and equality would surely meet with harsh disapproval or worse from white listeners, but song lyrics, couched in religious imagery, were acceptable and even endearing to whites. With the onset of the war, African Americans shifted into life as contrabands, soldiers, and, eventually , free citizens and gradually abandoned the coded language in their songs to express themselves more directly. The transition from slavery to freedom also affected white music about African Americans. Minstrelsy, one of the most popular genres of American music, was specifically designed to portray slave life—albeit comically. As the southern slave system collapsed, minstrel music could not help but change. In the North, some minstrel performers and songwriters supported emancipation and black enlistment, while others opposed these measures. In the South, minstrel songs gained a newfound popularity, as Confederates looked for signs that their slaves were happy in their new republic.The introduction of genuine black music to white audiences also influenced minstrelsy. As many northerners encountered slaves for the first time, they were astonished to find that slave songs were quite unlike minstrel tunes. By introducing this music, slaves, contrabands , and USCTs attempted to replace blackfaced performers as the primary representatives of their culture and reshape white conceptions of black life and society. Minstrelsy had played a prominent part in American culture since Daniel Decatur Emmett formed the Virginia Minstrels in 1842. Several popular groups and songwriters, such as Christy’s Minstrels and Stephen Foster, soon emerged. These performers would paint their faces black and depict African American life and culture for mostly working class audiences with varying degrees of sympathy or derision. In these performances, African Americans were almost always portrayed as comically stupid and unable to successfully function in white society . Minstrel shows were highly improvisational and focused on skits and dance numbers. Musicwas an important part of these performances and songs, such as “Jim Crow” and “Old Dan Tucker,” were standards. As minstrelsy developed , music became even more important as Foster and other songwriters began crafting pieces that were suitable for parlors as well as minstrel stages.1 The onset of the Civil War created significant problems for the mostly northern minstrel performers. E. P. Christy was in Charleston when South Carolina The Choked Voice of a Race { 139 seceded and, despite his show’s tacit approval of slavery, was able to perform only after assuring the audience that he did not support the Union—and, even then, he headed...