Civil War Music This Week’s Topic at LiveAuctionTalk.com Rosemary McKittrick is a storyteller. Her weekly antiques column keeps readers up-to-date on what’s happening with regard to history selling at auction.
News-Antique.com - Aug 09,2009 - Santa Fe, Aug. 9, 2009 -- Besides drinking and gambling the most popular pastime among Civil War soldiers from both sides was music. Although drinking and gambling were against regulations it was difficult to control homesick and lonely soldiers.
Both armies carried and played musical instruments as a way to lighten their load. Some companies even had their own bands. Soldiers sang as they marched. Music kept them in step and relieved the monotony of camp life.
Drums were the beat of history, the background noise of war--a thread holding the vestiges of life in battle together.
Sometimes drummers were officially attached to the company. Other times they were unofficial members, like mascots. The most famous drummer boy of the Civil War was probably John L. Clem from Ohio. The 10-year-old member with the 22nd Michigan had his drum smashed by a shell at Shiloh. The boy was unhurt but from then on was known as Shiloh Johnny.
On May 23, Garth’s, in Delaware, Ohio, featured a selection of Civil War items in its Ohio Valley auction. Included in the sale was a Civil War era drum. Signed on the interior “Raymond S. Osgood N.A.”, with a shield-breasted eagle, mid-19th century; 17 ½ inches high; sold for $558.
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