1865- Songs of Hope and Home from the American Civil War

1865 focuses on the personal experience of men, women, and children from the North and from the South, toward the end of the Civil War and in its immediate aftermath – as told in songs originally written for the stage and for the parlor, and in songs and instrumental tunes from the hills and back roads of America. Many of the songs in 1865 were published between 1861 and 1865; others first appeared in print earlier, but were sung constantly during the terrible war years, perhaps in an effort to bring to mind the familiar and the good. Yet other songs and instrumental tunes are not datable; by the year 1865, they had already been passed down from generation to generation without the aid of the printed page. Whatever their origins or history or musical style, these songs are the stylized, versified “stories” prized by millions of Americans who lived through “This Cruel War.” They describe the cause and the call to fight; the agony of separation of lovers or of mothers and sons; the hopes, fears, and sacrifices of those who remained at home during the long wait for news of loved ones; the experiences of the soldiers themselves – especially their desperate longing for home and family; homecoming for those who survived; grief for those who did not; and the hope for reconciliation amidst a troubled peace