HISTORY

March 29 - 2 to 3 p.m. Auditorium, first floor

Local musicologist Charles Prentiss will present a fun program about the songs of the American Civil War and how important music was to the soldiers on both sides of the conflict. On the American Civil War battlefield, different instruments including bugles, drums, and fifes were played to issue marching orders or sometimes simply to boost the morale of one's fellow soldiers. Singing was used as a recreational activity and as a release from the inevitable tensions that come with fighting in a war. 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.