Wars are not just battles. Wars are not just politicians parading their power by moving men and money on command. Wars are not weapons. Wars cannot be defined by any one thing, but I would dare say one word describes most wars: people. People fight wars, not countries. People die in wars. Families lose loved ones. Husbands are taken from their wives and children. People command troops. People serve as nurses. Yes...people are wars.
And since people are wars, the best learning tools often are the poetry and music created by people involved in conflict. Visit this website and read five Confederate poems, five Union poems and listen to five songs. In the comments section below choose your favorite from each category and explain what it means and why you liked it. You should have one paragraph per choice. This will be the last blog of the year, so the word count must be 300.
The song that I liked the most was The Battle Cry of Freedom. The words to the first verse(which was my favorite of all the four verses) are… “Yes, We rally round the flag, boys, we’ll rally once again Shouting the battle cry of freedom. We’ll rally from the hillside, we’ll gather from the plain, shouting the battle cry of freedom.” I think these words are very interesting and this verse lets you kind of hear how proud these men were, but the music to the lyrics makes it sound kind of sad and kind of routine. The one thing I liked especially was the trumpet playing where the words should be that was my favorite thing.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite confederate poem was Another Yankee Doodle. To me it was stupid but that is what I liked about it. The words for the third “verse” was… “ Yankee Doodle made a speech; ‘twas very full of feeling; “I fear,” he says’ “ I can not fight, but I am good at stealing.” And then there were more words to that verse but those were the words that stood out to me. This poem was my favorite because I used to sing that song all the time.
The Union poem I chose was called, April 20,1864. This poem I thought was cool because to me it seemed like they were remembering the day they said the oath to fight for their country in the Civil War. The reason I think that is because the first “verse” said… “Three years ago to-day We raised our hands to heaven, And on the rolls of muster Our names were thirty-seven; There were just a thousand bayonets ,And the swords were thirty-seven, As we took the oath of service. With our right hands raised to heaven. I liked reading what they remembered.(306)
I think my favorite Confederate poem is A Soldier’s Dream. I like that one because it describes what a soldier is looking forward to at the end of the war. The moms would be so happy to see their sons. The wives look forward to seeing their husbands. It also describes when they get home that they will not feel anything that hurt before and that is because he would be so happy that the war is over and that he gets to see his wife and son and mother. I think that is what every single soldier was looking forward to at the end of the war.
ReplyDeleteI think my favorite Union poem is The Hero of the Drum. I like that one because it showed that the drummer boys never felt fear. They always encouraged people to do what was best. In the poem it said that they will never retreat. So in that he was giving them confidence that they would win the battle. It also told them to not be afraid. The drummer boy always beat his drum even in the worst of battles. I think the drummer boys had more confidence the soldiers. That is my favorite Union poem.
I think my favorite song is Always Stand on the Union Side. That is my favorite song because it is really saying that the Union is better than the Confederate. They said in the song that they were fighting for the right thing. So pretty much what they are saying is that the Confederate are fighting for the wrong thing. I think in the song that it is saying that they won every single fight. The one thing in the song that stands out to me is “ We laugh at fear.” That stands out to me because that is saying the Union is not afraid of death but the Confederate is afraid of death. That is what I think. (324)
My favorite Confederate poem is "Roll-Call." To me, this poem is a soldier's story. It is vivid and descriptive. It puts a picture in my mind and makes it seem real, as if I were there. I can sense the sadness and pain of the soldiers. I cannot imagine standing at a roll call waiting to see which soldier's lived and which had died. On this day, as in most, so many men died or were badly wounded. It made me realize how much these men sacrificed. The line "And crimson-dyed was the river's flow stood out to me when describing the lost lives.
ReplyDeleteLike Josh, my favorite Union poem is "The Hero of the Drum." To me, the drum in this poem symbolizes life. The drummer, who is not armed, as well as the soldiers show great courage. They continue to march forward along with the drummer. The sound of the drum becomes like a heartbeat. As long as the sound of the drum can be heard, the soldiers press on, moving forward, continuing to fight. Through all the gunfire and chaos they listen for the sound of the drum. The drummer and soldier's are strong and brave. They never give up.
The song I like the best is a very popular one, Oh! Susanna. Even though this song was written during the war, the song has a catchy, upbeat tune. I think it is a song about love and hope. The composer of this song is concerned about Susanna and her feelings; not himself. He is determined to live and return to see her again. However, if he doesn't he tells her it will be okay and not to cry. The thought of Susanna gives him something to focus on and a reason to fight and stay alive. (302)
My favorite Confederate poem was Charleston by Henry Timrod. The author did a really good job describing the war and the surroundings. You can imagine what it looked like and “Calm as that second summer which precedes The first fall of snow,In the broad sunlight of heroic deeds, The city bides the foe.” is a great line that sets up the rest of the poem. Also, “Like tigers in some Orient jungle crouched That wait and watch for blood.” really stuck out to me and made it my favorite poem of the five that I read. The poem was beautifully written.
ReplyDeleteHe Died At His Post by J.W. Holman was my favorite Union poem. It showed how honorable it was to die for your country and freedom for others. “'Twill be sweet to remember he died at his post.” is my favorite line because it does show how appreciative we should be of soldiers and how honorable it is to die at your post. “Farewell youthful soldier! we ne'er will forget,
The life thou has offered, the death thou has met!” struck me because sometimes we do forget that those soldiers in the past did offer their life for the cause they believed in. Sometimes we think “Oh, yeah. The Civil War, North against South..” and we forget that many lives were lost.
My favorite song was “The Liberty Ball” by Jesse Hutchinson Jr. I had two favorite lines. One was “And ever intend to oppose them, Till all of God's image are free.” That was what most Union soldiers were fighting for, the liberty of African Americans, who were designed in God’s image. The other was “Come all ye true friends of the nation, Attend to humanity's call; Come aid in the slave's liberation” The song was urging people to fight for “Humanity’s call” or, in other words, freeing the slaves. It was also pretty catchy and got your attention.
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My favorite Confederate poem was Christmas night of '62. It talks about how much the soldiers in the war miss their families and think about them. I think it really shows how much the soldiers hated the war and yearned to go home. One stanza says “And sweetly from the far-off years Comes borne the laughter faint and low, The voices of the Long Ago! My eyes are wet with tender tears.”This shows their emotion then and now. In the years before the war the soldiers lives were filled with laughter and happiness, but during the war, they experienced tears and sorrow instead.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Union poem of the five I read was Shall I See My Boy Again. Much like the Confederate poem, this one gives us a glimpse of how much the soldiers in the Civil War cared for their families and missed them. This poem is the words of a soldier dying on the battlefield, grieving because he will never again be able to see his son. He is thinking of his little boy with his face pressed against the glass of a window, his feet pattering across the floor of their cottage, his voice whispering prayers before he goes to sleep.
My favorite song was “Give Us a Flag”. It is a Union song talking about African American volunteers in the war from the viewpoint of an African American. It talks about how at first they did not want to use free blacks to fight in the war: “Old Abe he had his fears, Till ev'ry hope was lost but the colored volunteers.” African Americans were kind of a last resort for the Union in the Civil War, but, as the poem says, the 54th was one of the best units in the war, and it was all black. (306)
The Confederate poem I liked the most was When This You See by James W. Thornhill. The poem is probably the shortest of them all but it does have a lot of meaning. The first line says “When this you see remember me.” Whoever is saying this wants to be remembered by the things that person would see. That might include the outcome of the war. He later puts “Though many a mile apart we be,
ReplyDeleteWhen I am where you cannot be, Far away on the battle field.” This shows that the person speaking is on the battle field and the person left might couldn't go. They might have been a woman or too young or too old. I think their were a lot of people who were separated because of the war but they wanted to make sure they weren't forgotten.
The Union poem I chose was Marching Still by Minna Irving. It tells how she is a widow and has four sons. One by one off the go to war when they are called to. Just like they went off to war the die in the war. When the mother gets the letter about her son dieing she kinda goes into diniale. She thinks he is still “marching on” in the war. To her it would be better news that he were still alive and fighting rather than dead. She was a mother and probably had hopes that at least one of her seven sons would come home again from the war.
The song I chose was “Oh! Susanna” by Stephen C. Foster. I had heard this song before when I was a kid. The guy saying all this clearly has a love for Susanna. The two of them have been separated for some reason. He misses her and she him but he doesn't want her to. He wants her to be happy and move on to someone else even if it's not him. (327 words)
My favorite confederate poem was “Hurrah for the Light Artillery.” I think this poem is saying how they won the battle and what happened step by step. After each stanza they put a command with an exclamation point after it. I think that is kind of how the battle went down for the confederates. The part before the command was what was happening and then it would go on and on from there. I liked this one the best because I thought it really explained the battle that they were in very well and it made you want to read on to see what would happen next in the battle.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Union poem was “The General’s Death.” This poem is talking about the general’s death and how he died. It is saying that he was really happy and he was ready to do what he did the best which was fight. He was smiling and you could tell he was happy with what he did. I think the next part means that he was 30 miles ahead of everyone else and then the fight broke out. The fight was then over and they came to see their general dead. I liked this one because it shows that they really cared for their general and they didn’t just think of him as another general but as a friend.
My favorite song that I “listened” to was “You are going to the Wars, Willy Boy!” I liked this one the best because it shows the love that the mother had for her son. This song I think was saying that a mother didn’t want her son, Willy Boy, to go to the war but she knew it was best for him. In the first little paragraph she was saying all the advantages to going to going to the war like getting nice clothes and all the girls. In the second one it sounded like that was more of a goodbye or and ending to the conversation. In the very end she said that if anything happened to him that she would never smile again and that shows that she really loved him. (361)
My favorite Confederate poem was "Hurrah for the Light Artillery". I thought it really told the story of how the soldiers were very happy to have the artillery to assist them in their efforts. It talked about how the horses dragged and strained to pull the cannons, I'm guessing they were cannons, and how the opposing forces frontline falls. It also talks about how they load the cannons and wait for the command. This poem is so interesting because it was very detailed, but wasn't like reading a book, it was very interesting to read because of how well it went together.
ReplyDeleteThe most interesting song, to me, was in the Confederate songs category and was called, “The Battle Cry of Freedom” I thought this was very interesting because of how well it showed the spirit of the Southern soldiers. It included things like: “Our gallant boys have marched” and “Their motto is resistance” this really shows how much the Confederacy hated the Union soldiers and what they stood for. It talks about how noble and brave their “boys” were, which, in fact, was most likely true. A lot of the times it was children that fought and died for the cause of the Confederacy.
The most interesting Union poem that I read/ found was “Memorial on the Slain at Chickamauga” The main reason I chose this one is because it is very close to where we live. I also found it interesting because it talks about how lucky the people who were unhurt, described as “unmarred” and “unscarred”. But it was the “unscarred” people who wrote this as they were reflecting on the friends and family that died during the war. It was a memorial to respect those who had given it all, unselfishly to help others live with a better life in an undivided America. (310 words) Last blog ever!
My favorite Confederate poem was the acrostic for FAREWELL. It was a sad story about soldiers leaving the ones they loved. I liked the part where it said, "When rivers divide us and hills rise between us, even then I will remember your childhood bright days. I like this because even though he was far away from his family he still had memories. Sometimes memories are the most important things. I like acrostics so it stood out to me and then I read it and it was sweet and sad. I think it focuses on saying goodbye. But to me it sounds like a temporary goodbye, not a final goodbye. It makes you feel hopefully.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Union poem was "Shall I See My Boy Again?" It was another poem about leaving someone behind to fight. It talks about his son waiting by the window for his dad to return. It talks about hugging his kid and hearing him pray again. The only thing I couldn't figure out (and maybe I'm just having a blonde moment) is if the dad is dying or if he is just worrying about dying and leaving his son. I thought the last line was the saddest. It said, "The boy will patient wait, when this sad war is over." I think this poem is just focusing on losing people through the war and the pain of it. It's about the families at home anxiously waiting for soldiers who will never return.
My favorite song was The Battle Hymn of the Republic. I liked this song because it had so much patriotism. And even though the men are facing the horror of war, they can still praise God. I find that awesome! They truly believed He would help them. It focuses on trusting God and not relying on men. It would be hard to have so much faith in a time of need like a war. (321)
Some of these poems are very 'grody'. One verse in the poem "No More Words" by Franklin Lushington says
ReplyDelete"No child's play! Waste not a day;
Serve out the deadliest weapons that you know;
Let them pitilessly hail on the faces of the foe;
No blind strife; Waste not one life."
This is talking about deadly weapons and shooting people in the face. I like this poem a lot because it is very patriotic. It is saying that instead of just trying to work things out on paper and by politics, which obviously hasn't been working, we need to fight. Just get it done.
I am also a Yankee, so I guess that is the other reason that I think this poem is patriotic.
A lot of the confederates considered the soldiers that died during the war martyrs. Just like the Union states considered all of the Union soldiers that died martyrs. This is my favorite verse in this confederate poem called "C.S.A" by Abram Joseph Ryan:
"Ah! fearless on many a day for us
They stood in front of the fray for us,
And held the foeman at bay for us;
And tears should fall
Fore 'er o 'er all
Who fell while wearing the Gray for us."
This is talking about all of the Confederates who died in vain trying to keep the Union from raiding the South (Which obviously failed). I also really liked the second to last verse which commemorates the dead soldiers who gave their life to defend the C S A.
My favorite of the songs that I read is “Always Stand on the Union Side” by M C Bisbee. It kind of makes out the C S A as traitors (which I have to say is partially true). My favorite verse is this one: Always stand on the Union side,
And "keep your powder dry."
We'll soon rejoice both far and wide
To see secession die.
'Tis better in defense of truth,
To be both brave and bold,
Than side with traitors and at last
Be left out in the cold.(348)
My favorite Confederate poem would have to be the “Another Yankee Doodle”. I think its really cool how someone came up with a poem so much like Yankee Doodle. It seems to me that the person who wrote this was trying to show that they didn’t like the North, and the poem mentions brandy a lot-which means they thought the North were heavy drinkers. In the end of the poem, instead of calling the battle of Bull Run, Bull Run, they called it “Bully Run”. They definitely thought the Yankees were bullies to the South- “You’re always intermeddling”. And maybe, this song could be about Abraham Lincoln. It mentions Lincoln a few times in the poem. I like this poem the most because it lets me see the war from the South’s point of view.
ReplyDeleteThe song I liked best in the Music section would have to be “Southern Soldier Boy”. I think this song clearly explains how “Bob Roebuck’s” lady feels about him. I think it also shows how she’s worried about him and how she hopes he’ll come home so they can get married and if he doesn’t come home, she’d probably die from sadness. I think its sweet how she says, “For he is my only joy, He is the darling of my heart…” It shows how most women who had soldiers in the army felt in those times. I bet women today feel the same way as the girls back then did.
The Union poem I chose is “On a Great Warrior”. It clearly describes Ulysses S. Grant and how everyone felt about him. Like when it says, “He was a hero to the end!” and “He fought to keep the Union whole”. This poem obviously portrays Grant how he actually was- and how the public saw him- as a hero, soldier, and a God-sent man. When I read this poem, I pictured a strong man, who fought for good causes. I think this poem means/shows, like I said before, a strong man who seemed to be born for the jobs he had in his lifetime.
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The Confederate poem that I like the best was “Prison Bars.” I liked it because it was short so it was easy for me to understand. I think that the poem is about a Rebel soldier and how he is in prison. It says that he is being guarded by bayonets, so I kind of picture a young Confederate soldier surrounded a few Union soldiers. I think that the soldier in the prison has a very strong spirit. He wishes to be free and able to fight again for his ‘country.’ I think that is I was in prison I would have visions a freedom as well.
ReplyDeleteOut of the ones that I read, the Union poem that I liked the best was “The General’s Death.” It is another short poem, so it doesn’t take long for the reader to understand the whole thing. At the begging the soldiers talk about how the general is a great man, and they show their appreciation for him. It also shows how fast it can all be over. It says “Within an hour we saw him lie…” When I think of wars I don’t normally think about the leaders dying. This poem shows that even the greatest heroes of the war died while fighting.
The song that I like the most was one that belonged to the Union. It was called “John Brown’s Body.” I liked it because it had the same feel as “Glory Glory Hallelujah.” So you could put it to the same toon. It also goes along with the blog of last week about John Brown. It also shows how the North viewed John Brown as a hero and not a villain. But the song wasn’t written about the martyr John Brown but Sergeant John Brown of the Second Battalion, Boston Light Infantry, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia. So in my opinion it makes sense to sing it both ways.
My favorite confederate poem is called “The Jacket of Gray.” The poem is sad but has meaning to it. I talks about a solider boy joining the brave band to defend our country. The family prays that he will be all right. It says that they won the battle but the family lost there boy. They are proud and loved their son that wore that jacket of gray. I liked this poem the best because it talk about a real family in a way. It talks about how that loved their son and that they are proud of him.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite union poem is called “March Along.” I like it because it says that they want to live up to what people have said about them. It says that the name must never go down and that they are proud of there nation and heroes who achieved it. It also says that they go one they earn victory which says that they really are fighting for what they believe in. They will march forever till they win. It says that the flag floated from Texas to Maine, and that our ancestors bore it before us which is saying that they fought for it and we must do the same to live up to our name.
My favorite song is called “Cheer Boys Cheer.” It is a confederate song. It is kind of a happy song cheering for the wives and country. It says that they give their hearts, and lives to the south. That they bring the flag with standards and wave it high with pride and dignity. In the chorus it kind of sad that they are saying that they may not return to the loving homes that they used to return to. I love that the meaning is them to cheer even when things are going wrong. Even when they are facing death they cheer. (316)
My favorite Confederate poem that I read is called “Prison Bars." One reason why I liked that one is because it's short. All the other poems were a lot longer and a lot harder to understand, so I agree with James on that. I think that it's talking about a younger Rebel soldiers. The bars mean that he is in prison. It says that guards are guarding him all of the time, and he hates that they have control over him. Also I think it is saying how he wants to get out of prison so he can be in the war and fight for the Confederates.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Union poem that I read is called "Shall I See My Boy Again?” This poem is talking about a family missing somebody they love that went in to the war. It is talking about how they hope the person won’t die and is ok. I think that it is talking about a father that misses his son. It also says how he is patiently waiting for him to come back home. He says that he wants to hear his son’s footsteps again on their cottage floor. It says that he wants to hear his child’s prayer at night again.
My favorite song was “Cheer Boys Cheer.” That song belongs to the Confederates. I think that I like it because it is a positive song. Sometimes back then in the war people had negative attitudes and this song probably cheer a lot of people up. It talks about how they are going to wave there flag high. I think that it is saying that because the “boys” in the war were proud of the Confederacy and where they came from. It also talks about how some of them won’t return back home, but they are still going to keep on cheering.
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