Music of the American Civil War During the American Civil War , music played a big part on both sides of the conflict : Union and Confederate . On the American Civil War battlefield , different instruments including bugles , drum s , and fife s were played to issue marching orders or sometimes simply to boost the morale of one ' s fellow soldiers . Singing was also employed as a recreational activity , but as a release from the inevitable tensions that come with fighting in a war , particularly a war in which the issue of freedom of a race is to be decided . In camp , music was a diversion away from the bloodshed , helping the soldiers deal with homesickness and boredom . Soldiers of both sides often engaged in recreation with musical instruments , and when the opposing armies were near each other , sometimes the bands from both sides of the conflict played against each other on the night before a battle . Each side had its particular favorite tunes , while some music was enjoyed by Northerners and Southerners alike , as exemplified by United States President Abraham Lincoln ' s love of " Dixie " , the unofficial anthem of the Confederacy . To this day , many of the songs are sung when a patriotic piece is required . The war ' s music also inspired music artists such as Lynyrd Skynyrd and Elvis Presley . Development of American music . The Civil War was an important period in the development of American music . During the Civil War , when soldiers from across the country commingled , the multifarious strands of American music began to crossfertilize each other , a process that was aided by the burgeoning railroad industry and other technological developments that made travel and communication easier . Army units included individuals from across the country , and they rapidly traded tunes , instruments and techniques . The songs that arose from this fusion were " the first American folk music with discernible features that can be considered unique to America " . The war was an impetus for the creation of many songs that became and remained wildly popular ; the songs were aroused by " all the varied passions ( that the Civil War inspired ) " and " echoed and re - echoed " every aspect of the war . John Tasker Howard has claimed that the songs from this era " could be arranged in proper sequence to form an actual history of the conflicts ; its events , its principal characters , and the ideals and principles of the opposing sides " . In addition to , and in conjunction with , popular songs with patriotic fervor , the Civil War era also produced a great body of brass band pieces , from both the North and the South , as well as other military musical traditions like the bugle call " Taps " . Regulations . In May 1861 the United States War Department officially approved that every regiment of infantry and artillery could have a brass band with 24 members , while a cavalry regiment could have one of sixteen members . The Confederate army would also have brass bands . This was followed by a Union army regulation of July 1861 requiring every infantry , artillery , or cavalry company to have two musicians and for there to be a twenty - four man band for every regiment . The July 1861 requirement was ignored as the war dragged on , as riflemen were more needed than musicians . In July 1862 the brass bands of the Union were disassembled by the adjutant general , although the soldiers that comprised them were sometimes reenlisted and assigned to musician roles . A survey in October 1861 found that 75 % of Union regiments had a band . By December 1861 the Union army had 28 , 000 musicians in 618 bands ; a ratio of one soldier out of 41 who served the army was a musician , and the Confederate army was believed to have a similar ratio . Musicians were often given special privileges . Union general Phillip Sheridan gave his cavalry bands the best horses and special uniforms , believing " Music has done its share , and more than its share , in winning this war " . Musicians on the battlefield were drummers and buglers , with an occasional fifer . Buglers had to learn forty - nine separate calls just for infantry , with more needed for cavalry . These ranged from battle commands to calls for meal time . Some of these required musicians were drummer boys not even in their teens , which allowed an adult man to instead be a foot soldier . The most notable of these under aged musicians was John Clem , also known as " Johnny Shiloh " . Union drummers wore white straps to support their drums . The drum and band majors wore baldric s to indicate their status ; after the war , this style would be emulated in civilian bands . Drummers would march to the right of a marching column . Similar to buglers , drummers had to learn 39 different beats : fourteen for general use , and 24 for marching cadence . However , buglers were given greater importance than drummers . On the battlefield . Whole songs were sometimes played during battles . The survivors of the disastrous Pickett ' s Charge returned under the tune " Nearer My God to Thee " . At the Battle of Five Forks , Union musicians under orders from Sheridan played Stephen Foster ' s minstrel song " Nelly Bly " while being shot at on the front lines . Samuel P . Heintzelman , the commander of the III Corps , saw many of his musicians standing at the back lines at the Battle of Williamsburg , and ordered them to play anything . Their music rallied the Union forces , forcing the Confederate to withdraw . It was said that music was the equivalent of " a thousand men " on one ' s side . Robert E . Lee himself said , " I don ' t think we could have an army without music . " Sometimes , musicians were ordered to leave the battlefront and assist the surgeons . One notable time was the 20th Maine ' s musicians at Little Round Top . As the rest of the regiment were driving back wave after wave of Confederates , the musicians of the regiment were not just performing amputations , but doing it in a very quick manner . In camp . Many soldiers brought musical instruments from home to pass the time at camp . Banjo s , fiddle s , and guitars were particularly popular . Aside from drums , the instruments Confederates played were either acquired before the war , or imported , due to the lack of brass and the industry to make such instruments . Musical duels between the two sides were common , as they heard each other as the music traveled across the countryside . The night before the Battle of Stones River , bands from both sides dueled with separate songs , until both sides started playing " Home ! Sweet Home ! " , at which time soldiers on both sides started singing together as one . A similar situation occurred in Fredericksburg , Virginia in the winter of 1862 – 3 . On a cold afternoon a Union band started playing Northern patriotic tunes ; a Southern band responded by playing Southern patriotic tunes . This back and forth continued into the night , until at the end both sides played " Home ! Sweet Home ! " simultaneously , to the cheers of both sides ' forces . In a third instance , in the spring of 1863 , the opposing armies were on the opposite sides of the Rappahannock River in Virginia , when the different sides played their patriotic tunes , and at taps one side played " Home ! Sweet Home ! " , and the other joined in , creating " cheers " from both sides that echoed throughout the hilly countryside . Both sides sang " Maryland , My Maryland " , although the lyrics were slightly different . Another popular song for both was " Lorena " . " When Johnny Comes Marching Home " was written in 1863 by Patrick Gilmore , an immigrant from Ireland , and was also enjoyed by both sides . Homefront . The first song written for the war , " The First Gun is Fired " , was first published and distributed three days after the Battle of Fort Sumter . George F . Root , who wrote it , is said to have produced the most songs of anyone about the war , over thirty in total . Lincoln once wrote a letter to Root , saying , " You have done more than a hundred generals and a thousand orators " . The southern states had long lagged behind northern states in producing common literature . With the advent of war , Southern publishers were in demand . These publishers , based largely in five cities ( Charleston , South Carolina ; Macon , Georgia ; Mobile , Alabama ; Nashville , Tennessee ' and New Orleans , Louisiana ) , produced five times more printed music than they did literature . In the Confederate States of America , " God Save the South " was the official national anthem . However , " Dixie " was the most popular . United States President Abraham Lincoln said he loved " Dixie " and wanted to hear it played , saying " as we had captured the rebel army , we had also captured the rebel tune " . At an April 9 , 1865 rally , the band director was surprised when Lincoln requested that the band play " Dixie " . Lincoln said , " That tune is now Federal property . . . good to show the rebels that , with us in power , they will be free to hear it again " . < / ref > The other prominent tune was " The Bonnie Blue Flag " , and like " Dixie " was written in 1861 , unlike Union popular tunes which were written throughout the war . The United States did not have a national anthem at this time ( " Star Spangled Banner " would not be recognized as such until the twentieth century ) . Union soldiers frequently sang the " Battle Cry of Freedom " , and the " Battle Hymn of the Republic " was considered the north ' s most popular song . Different versions . Although certain songs were identified with one particular side of the war , sometimes the other would adapt the song for their use . A Southern revision of the " Star Spangled Banner " was used , entitled " The Southern Cross " . In an example of the different lyrics , where the " Banner " had " O say does that Star Spangled Banner yet wave " , the " Cross " had " ' Tis the Cross of the South , which shall ever remain " . Another Confederate version of the " Star Spangled Banner " , called " The Flag of Secession " , replaced the same verse with " and the flag of secession in triumph doth wave " . Even a song from the American Revolutionary War was adapted , as the tune " Yankee Doodle " was changed to " " Dixie Doodle " " , and started with " Dixie whipped old Yankee Doodle early in the morning " . The Union ' s " Battle Cry of Freedom " was also altered , with the original lines of " The Union forever ! Hurrah , boys , hurrah ! Down with the traitor , up with the star " being changed to " Our Dixie forever ! She ' s never at a loss ! Down with the eagle and up with the cross ! " The Union also adapted Southern Songs . In a Union variation of " Dixie " , instead of the line " I wish I was in the land of cotton , old times there are not forgotten , Look away , look away , look away , Dixie Land " , it was changed to " Away down South in the land of traitors , Rattlesnakes and alligator s , Right away , come away , right away , come away " . " John Brown ' s Body " ( originally titled " John Brown " ) was originally written for a soldier at Fort Warren in Boston in 1861 . It was sung to the tune of " Glory , Hallelujah " and was later used by Julia Ward Howe for her famous poem , " Battle Hymn of the Republic . " Legacy . The music derived from this war was of greater quantity and variety than from any other war involving America . Songs came from a variety of sources . " Battle Hymn of the Republic " borrowed its tune from a song sung at Methodist revivals . " Dixie " was a minstrel song that Daniel Emmett adapted from two Ohio black singers named Snowden . American soldiers would continue to sing " Battle Hymn of the Republic " in the Spanish - American War , World War I , and World War II . The Southern rock style of music has often used the Confederate Battle Flag as a symbol of the musical style . " Sweet Home Alabama " by Lynyrd Skynyrd was described as a " vivid example of a lingering Confederate mythology in Southern culture " . A ballad from the war , " Aura Lee " , would become the basis of the song " Love Me Tender " by Elvis Presley . Presley also sang " An American Trilogy " , which was described as " smoothing " out " All My Trials " , the " Battle Hymn of the Republic " , and " Dixie " of its divisions , although " Dixie " still dominated the piece . In 2013 , a compilation album by current popular musicians , like Jorma Kaukonen , Ricky Skaggs , and Karen Elson , was released with the title , " Divided & United : The Songs of the Civil War " . Songs published per year . w . = Words by m . = Music by