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

3. Gay Deceibers and Bonnie Blue Flags: The Anthems of the Confederacy

{ 59 } CHAPTER 3 GAY DECEIBERS AND BONNIE BLUE FLAGS THE ANTHEMS OF THE CONFEDERACY We are a band of brothers, and native to the soil, Fighting for our Liberty, with treasure, blood and toil; And when our rights were threatened, the cry rose near and far, Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a Single Star! Chorus Hurrah! Hurrah! for Southern Rights Hurrah! Hurrah! for the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a Single Star! As long as the Union was faithful to her trust, Like friends and like brethren kind we were and just; But now when Northern treachery attempts our rights to mar, We hoist on high the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a Single Star. Chorus First, gallant South Carolina nobly made the stand; Then came Alabama, who took her by the hand; Next, quickly Mississippi, Georgia and Florida, All raised on high the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a Single Star. Chorus Ye men of valor, gather round the Banner of the Right, Texas and fair Louisiana, join us in the fight; Davis, our loved President, and Stephens, Statesman rare, Now rally round the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a Single Star. Chorus And here’s to brave Virginia! the Old Dominion State With the young Confederacy at length has link’d her fate; Impell’d by her example, now other States prepare To hoist on high the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a Single Star. Chorus 60 } Gay Deceibers and Bonnie Blue Flags Then cheer, boys, raise the joyous shout, For Arkansas and North Carolina have both gone out; And let another rousing cheer for Tennessee be given The Single Star of the Bonnie Blue Flag has grown to be Eleven. Chorus Then here’s to our Confederacy, strong we are and brave, Like patriots of old, we’ll fight our heritage to save; And rather than submit to shame, to die we would prefer, So cheer for the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a Single Star. —HARRY MACARTHY, “The Bonnie Blue Flag,” 1861 Although most northerners were content with patriotic songs, Confederates wanted anthems. The patriotic songs of the 1860s were expressions of loyalty and dedication, placed within the context of the Civil War. An anthem was a broad nationalistic statement—defining a people’s goals and beliefs. Confederates sought such songs as they cast aside the traditional odes of the Union. They needed resounding numbers that embodied their new nation, both ideologically and emotionally. However, these anthems had to be written under wartime conditions that greatly affected their content and distribution.With northern ships blockading southern ports and northern armies occupying southern towns, Confederate song production was severely inhibited. As a result, the anthems adopted by Confederates early in the war remained the most popular throughout the conflict . Furthermore, because such a high percentage of Confederate men were in the army, soldiers exerted even more influence on southern musical tastes. The anthems they chose failed to meet the high standards envisioned by many southern nationalists, but Confederates nevertheless embraced them as powerful symbols of their new republic. When the South seceded it not only forfeited America’s flag and constitution but also discarded its anthems. Almost immediately after South Carolina left the Union, people in the state removed America’s traditional anthems from songbooks. In fact, several northern observers reported that the state legislature outlawed “Hail Columbia,” “The Star Spangled Banner,” and “Yankee Doodle.” A year later, the Richmond Dispatch spoke for the whole Confederacy in bidding “Hail and Farewell” to “Hail Columbia” because “‘Columbia’ is no longer a happy land” and “we want to have a new country in its songs as well as in its laws.”1 Gay Deceibers and Bonnie Blue Flags { 61 Open rejection of America’s patriotic songs became an important signifier of Confederate nationalism. Early in the war, a Confederate officer at Leesburg , Virginia, was disgusted by the constant playing of “Hail Columbia” and “Yankee Doodle” from a nearby Union band. He wrote, “To the patriotic heart those airs may be inspiring, but it cannot be said with truth that they possess a high degree of sweetness or melody.” In Philadelphia, a group of southern sympathizers were thrown out of the Academy of Music for hissing while the same two songs were played. Over time, the original sentiments of America’s anthems became inverted for many Confederates. Cowardice and dishonor replaced patriotism and bravery. For...