Civil War Sheet Music, "Camps, Tramps and Battlefields", 1865

This is another sheet music being offered, it is titled "Camps, Tramps and Battlefields". It is the typical size of the era measuring 13" x 11" and is two pages front and back. A popular song during the Civil War by George F. Root.  At the bottom of the cover is "Entered, according to Act of Congress, A.D. 1865".

The Civil War was an important period in the development of American music. It was a time when soldiers from across the country commingled; the varied strands of American music began to cross-fertilize 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 very popular; the songs were aroused by all the varied passions that the Civil War inspired. It is said that if the songs from this era were arranged in proper sequence, they would form an actual history of the conflicts, its events, its principal characters, and the ideals and principles of the opposing sides.

During and after the Civil War, sales of sheet music exploded, both in the North and South. The patriotic melodies were extremely popular, but songs of home and loved ones topped the charts. Over the years I collected quite a few pieces of Civil War era sheet music and am now offering some of them on the site – they look great framed.