Music, Homesickness, and American Civil War Soldiers

A complex web connected homesickness, nostalgia, and music during the American Civil War. A favorite song recalled the best parts of antebellum life, and performing or listening to such music allowed lonely soldiers to reconnect with distant loved ones. Yet the same piece that consoled through memory could bring forth the pain of separation in a different listener. While a song's lyrics were a large factor in directing the emotional impact, in some cases it was the performer, instrument, or setting that triggered the response. All these factors united to reflect and possibly shape the soldiers' view of themselves in relation to those on the home front. This is vital when considering differences in the musical preferences shown by soldiers and civilians, differences that paralleled the growing emotional gap between soldiers on the battlefield and naive civilians on the home front.