Sheet Music of the Confederacy

The creation of the Confederate States of America and the subsequent Civil War inspired composers, lyricists, and music publishers in Southern and border states, and even in foreign countries, to support the new nation. Confederate-imprint sheet music articulated and encouraged Confederate nationalism, honoured soldiers and military leaders, comforted family and friends, and provided diversion from the hardships of war. This is the first comprehensive history of the sheet music of the Confederacy. It covers Confederate-themed sheet music published before the war in Southern states that seceded from the Union, and published during the war in Union-occupied capitals, border and Northern states, and foreign countries. It is also the first work to examine the contribution of post-war Confederate-themed sheet music to the South's response to defeat, to the creation and fostering of Lost Cause themes, and to the promotion of national reunion and reconciliation.