Document text
- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us April 27, 2005 Food & History Songs from the Civil War There were hundreds of songs written and sung during the Civil War. A few are still heard. “Dixie” defined a movement and a region. These three also have fascinating histories. Jeff Cheek In 1861, George Poulton and W. W. Fosdick penned a lugubrious, romantic ballad, “Aura Lee.” The ballad was popular both North and South but slowly faded away for almost a century. In 1956, Elvis Presley discovered the old, haunting melody. He kept the music but wrote new lyrics: “Love me tender, Love me sweet; Never let me go; You have made my life complete; And I love you so.” RCA recorded “Love Me Tender” where it promptly set a new record. It was the first song ever to be a gold record before it was released. Over a million Presley fans had preordered copies of “Love Me Tender.” When Gen. Joe Johnson, CSA, surrendered his army in April 1865, Private Tom Dula gave his name to an overworked Union clerk for his parole. The clerk wrote “Tom Dooley” on the document. Rather than argue, Dula accepted the new surname. A year later, Tom Dooley was hanged for killing his ex-girlfriend, Laura Foster, in a fit of jealous rage. Tom Dula or Dooley might have faded into the dustbin of history but some unknown Tarheel wrote a poem about his crime. In 1958 three young singers, the Kingston Trio, resurrected the doleful poem. They wrote new music while changing some of the original wording. “Hang down your head, Tom Dooley; Hang down your head and cry; Hang down your head, Tom Dooley; Pore boy you’re gonna die.” 140 years have passed since the Civil War ended but we still sing about Private Tom Dula/Dooley, CSA. Julia Ward Howe was a devout Abolitionist and a well known poet. Visiting Washington, she attended a military review. When she returned home, she could not erase the picture of those thousands of young men, marching off to unknown fates. She woke up that night with some lines racing through her mind. Grabbing a stubby pencil, she wrote them down, fearing that they would be lost if she went back to sleep. “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord; He is tramping out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored; He hath loosed the fateful lightening of his terrible swift sword; His truth is marching on.” The Atlantic Monthly published her “Battle Hymn of the Republic” in February 1862. Mrs. Howe received only a $5 payment but her poem swept the nation. The dramatic hymn built a moral framework for the Union cause. One of the soldiers who memorized her “Battle Hymn” was The Rev. McCabe, chaplain of the 122nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry. In 1863, Chaplain McCabe was captured and incarcerated at Richmond’s Libby Prison. He tried to rally his fellow prisoners, but morale was low, especially when their guards bragged that the war would soon be over. Lee had invaded the north, won a decisive victory and was marching on Washington. Spirits sagged even lower. The next day a slave who brought their food whispered the truth to McCabe. It was all a lie! There had been a great battle at some place called Gettysburg, but Lee had lost a third of his army and was retreating back to Virginia. The word swept through the prison. McCabe sprang to his feet and began to sing: “Mine eyes have seen the glory ...” Thousands of other POW’s stood up and joined him. Months later, McCabe was exchanged and told his story at a church meeting in Washington, then sang it again. When the song ended, a tall, careworn man with tears streaming down his face stood up. “Please, sing it again,” said Abraham Lincoln. Sorry, we don’t have space for a recipe this week. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Free Musick Downloads Slippers Women's & Men's Slippers Ceramic Piggy Banks heloc Calenders 2005 Calender 2005 Accelerate Weightloss Products Memory Foam Mattress tcg student loan consolidation home equity loans teleconferencing W2 Forms cortisol weight loss Tatoos website design & marketing student loans African Safari Conference Calls - $50/Month Security Systems diamonds Currancy Exchange Online Casinos Community Student Loans Tatoo Poker Games Homeschooling Click Here .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams