"To light us to freedom, and glory again!":The Role of Civil War Poetry Some examples of different types of Civil War poetr: Type One: Early Poems Of Unity Leading up to the Civil War, and during the early periods of the war, poems of unity were intended to unite the citizens of the North or of the South. Poem: "Ethnogensis" (found on pages 100-104)
Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Poem: "Hurrah for the South"
Poem: "Hurrah for the Union!" (found on page 46)
Page 46
Type Two: Calls to Arms A second type of Civil War poetry, "calls to arms," called men of the north and south, respectively, to join the army and fight for their side.
Poem: "The Texan Marseillaise" (scroll down to page 385)
Page 385
Poem: "A Cry to Arms" (found on pages 83-85)
Page 83
Page 84 Page 85 Poem: "My Maryland"
Poem: "Answer to 'My Maryland'" (found on pages 243-244)
Page 243
Page 244 Poem: "300,000 More"
Type Three: Poems about Women's Contribution to the War Another type of poetry published early during the war was written by women and grappled with the issue of how women, who couldn't fight in the war, might contribute to the war effort. Poem: "The Will for the Deed" (scroll down to page 238)
Page 238
Type Four: The Quest for a National Song Another type of poetry written during the war was set to music and attempted to function—or became so popular that they effectively did function—as national songs that represented the ideals and missions of each side. Poem: "The Southern Cross"
Poem: "Battle Hymn of the Republic"
Howe's personal account of how the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" came to be written (scroll down to pages 706-709) Page 706
Page 707 Page 708 Page 709 Type Five: Poems about Individual Soldier's Experiences
Although the calls to arms, poems of unity, and the other
types of poems mentioned above were published throughout the war, another type
of poetry that was published during the war and grew more popular as the war
progressed was poetry that focused on the individual soldier's experience of
war. This type of poetry was, in a way,
intended to help people face the grim reality of the war, to make sense of
soldiers' sacrifice, and to memorialize their efforts. It was also a way to connect the experiences
of soldiers, who were often far away from home, with those remaining at home.
Poem: "Somebody's
Darling" (scroll down to page
450)
Poem: “The Dying Confederate’s Last Words”
Poem: “The
Picket-Guard”
Type Six: Humorous Poems There were other types of poems published during the Civil War as well, including humorous poems on all subjects. Poem: "The Craven"
Type Seven: Postwar Poems There were many different types of poems written after the war. Some of them memorialized fallen heroes; some Southern poems expressed continued defiance towards the North despite losing the war; and some Northern poems depicted the South as an evil overcome by the forces of good. For the most part, though, poems written by the North and South weren't hostile to the other side. Poem: "The Conquered Banner"
Poem: "The Blue and the Gray"