1.)The Tatham Boys

Six brothers hailing from the mountainous Cherokee County in the
westernmost tip of North Carolina chose to go with their State and fight
for the Confederacy. The youngest of “the Tatham Boys” was just sixteen
years old. It was not uncommon for all the military-aged men in a family
to join the army, leaving a terrible burden on the women and children
left behind. It is estimated that eighty-percent of eligible Southern
men served the Confederacy.

Joining the 25th North Carolina Infantry Regiment and Thomas’ Legion of
Indians and Highlanders, the Tatham Boys saw action in some of the
bloodiest battles of the Civil War. Two gave their lives for “the
Cause;” one was killed in the fighting around Richmond and the other
died from wounds he had received there.

Listen as we “tell you about them Tatham Boys.”



2.)Hold The Line

The ability of a Civil War officer to understand terrain and align his
soldiers on “good ground” often determined a battle’s outcome. Higher
elevations were typically preferred because they served as good
observation posts and offered the best fields of fire.

“Hold the Line” tells the story of a regiment racing to reach the high
ground and set up defensive works in preparation for an imminent attack.
As the enemy soldiers advance, their bayonets glistening in the sun, the
regiment’s colonel steps up to the firing line. With sword in hand, he
exhorts his men to “Hold the line, boys! Hold the line!” If his regiment
fails to hold, the whole army would be imperiled.

Civil War soldiers performed a litany of valiant defenses in the face of
intense enemy attack. Two of the more famous instances of holding the
line occurred at Gettysburg and at Fredricksburg. The center of the
Union line on Cemetery Ridge endured Pickett’s charge at Gettysburg, and
the Army of Northern Virginia withstood several desperate Union charges
against the stone wall at Fredricksburg.



3.)When The Bands Played

The rough and rocky ground of the Stones River National Battlefield Park
near Murfreesboro, Tennessee is the site of one of the most moving
scenes of the American Civil War. The battle was fought during the
dreary days between Christmas 1862 and the first few days of 1863. The
cold, homesick soldiers of the two armies camped so close together that
they could hear the enemy regimental bands playing.

The soldiers from both armies were entertained, first by a Union band
and then by a Confederate band. The trading of tunes went on until one
band played “Home Sweet Home.” At that point all bands joined in with
thousands of soldiers from both sides singing in unison and momentarily
forming one huge American choir.

Everyone longs for home.



4.)Furlough

This rollicking instrumental captures the feeling of joy that a Civil
War soldier typically felt when he received a furlough.

Furloughs were given by commanding officers to soldiers for many
reasons. Soldiers were allowed to go home to recuperate from sickness or
wounds or to plant or harvest crops. Some veterans were given extended
furloughs as an incentive to re-enlist. Papers carried by the soldiers
gave the name, unit, destination, and duration of the furlough. Some
soldiers never returned from their furlough, especially later in the
war, choosing instead to become deserters.

History shows that Civil War soldiers were furloughed more often than
soldiers from previous times; but to a man missing home, no leave is
long enough.



5.)Miss Anne's Cotillion

“May I have the honor of a dance?” are the words this young Confederate
Cavalry officer anticipates asking Miss Anne as he is preparing to
attend a ball in Richmond later that night.

Dancing was extremely popular during Civil War times, and dances were a
major social event. Rich and poor, old and young, Northerner and
Southerner, all enjoyed dancing and were expected to know the latest
dances; and many young men learned their left from right while learning
dance steps.

Some dances were private, invitation-only affairs, while others were
public and required purchasing a ticket with the proceeds going to
benefit the troops. These dances brought welcome relief from the ravages
of the War.

“Rosin up the bows; it’s time for the Virginia Reel!”



6.)Wishing

Fear, bewilderment, dread, and confusion were all emotions experienced
by soldiers in battle. Most of the farmers, mechanics, shopkeepers, and
teamsters that made up the mostly volunteer armies had never experienced
anything like it and referred to battle as “seeing the elephant.” Troops
tried to make sense of the chaos in any way possible to help them
understand war and soldiering.

As soldiers drilled and experienced battle, they became more familiar
with the art of war and were able to perform their duties with a more
detached outlook. As they became more seasoned, their confidence grew
and they were able to perform their work under fire. Stories are common
of men laughing, joking, cursing, and yelling as the battles raged.

Realizing that his daydreaming and wishing to return to the sights,
smells, sounds, and tastes of home may not help him in the heat of
battle, this Georgia soldier accepts that “this wishing’s all I got.”



7.)Mandy Play Your Mandolin

This song is of a wounded cavalry trooper who has been brought home to
die. A scene similar to this was played out many times during the course
of the war.

As his last few hours slip away, he recalls to his wife stories of his
service under General Forrest. He tells her that even in the heat of
battle, the memory of her music was always with him.

As his strength fades and death is taking him away from her, he calls to
her to play one more song, one more time. Appropriately, the tune she
chooses to play is an ancient one, “The Girl I Left Behind Me.”



8.)Angel In Gray

A wounded soldier recalls the horrific and surreal events he witnessed
December 13th and 14th, 1862. Fourteen Union attacks were hurled against
the Confederate-defended stone wall, along the sunken road below Marye’s
Heights during the Battle of Fredricksburg. By day’s end, seven thousand
dead and wounded Union soldiers lay on the field without one having
reached the wall.

South Carolinian Richard Kirkland listened to the pitiful cries of the
wounded throughout the night. Finally he received permission to carry
water to the wounded enemy soldiers. With canteens filled, he jumped the
wall and darted to the nearest wounded man, and then to the next,
expecting at any moment to be killed by a sharpshooter. Soon both sides
realized what he was doing and cheered him on in his mission of mercy.
Richard Kirkand became known as the “Angel of Mayre’s Heights.” In this
song, he is the “Angel in Gray.”

Richard Kirkland was killed at Chickamauga the following year.



9.)Army Of The Lord

A spiritual awakening swept through both Northern and Southern armies
during the Civil War. The most significant revivals occurred in the
winter and spring of 1863. The tribulations of war, constant threat of
death, and concern for loved ones were foremost in the soldiers’ minds.
The realization that they had little control over these matters moved
men to new spiritual heights and convinced them to put their trust in God.
It is estimated that over 100,000 Confederates and 200,000 Union troops
made professions of faith during the Civil War – roughly ten percent of
the men engaged.

This soldier knows he’s on the winning side, no matter the battle’s
outcome; he’s in the Army of the Lord.



10.)Nights On The Tennessee

When a Civil War soldier marched off to face the enemy, he often left
behind a wife or sweetheart. Much of his time was spent thinking of her
as he posted a lonely picket, set up camp, fought, or marched to the
next battlefield.

Since many of the soldiers were young and away from home for the first
time, homesickness was common. In addition, they often received letters
from home describing the hardships their families were enduring, leaving
them feeling helpless, unable to relieve their families’ suffering. On
top of that frustration was the fear that things would never be like
they were before the war began.

“Nights on the Tennessee” describes a soldier on an unusually quiet
night at the front, in a reflective moment, hoping to return to his
wife, homestead, and the life he had left behind.



11.)Sharpshooter's Blues

Ten shots in a ten-inch circle at two hundred yards -- that’s the mark
prospective Union recruits had to hit to become one of Berdan’s
Sharpshooters, the most documented marksmen of the Civil War.
Sharpshooters were most often used as skirmishers providing flank
security though both sides used them for long-range precision fire
against high-priority targets such as officers, artillery crews and
horses, color-bearers, and pickets.

While directing artillery fire at the battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse,
Major General John Sedgewick was killed by a sharpshooter’s bullet from
over five hundred yards away. His last words were, “Don’t worry, boys.
They couldn’t hit an elephant at this dis…” A sharpshooter had just
earned his pay.

This tongue-in-cheek look at the dangerous and sometimes detested life
of a sharpshooter proves that if they could see you, they could hit you.



12.)Brandy Station

This instrumental is named for the largest cavalry battle of the Civil
War. On June 9th 1863, over 17,000 troopers clashed in a twelve-hour
battle in which fortunes changed repeatedly with charge and
countercharge. The surprise attack at dawn of Major General Alfred
Pleasanton’s Union Calvary caught Major General J.E.B. Stuart’s
Confederates off-guard.

Stuart had not expected to be harassed by the enemy, and his cavalry
rested after two full field reviews given on June 5th and on June 8th
for General Lee. June 9th was to be a day of maneuver as General Lee
planned to use the cavalry to screen the movement of the infantry into
the Shenandoah Valley. At 4:30 in the morning, those plans changed when
Brigadier General John Buford’s fifty-five hundred Union horsemen
splashed across the Rappahannock River and started the battle at Brandy
Station.



13.)Headin' South

North Carolina troops proudly claimed “first at Bethel, farthest at
Gettysburg, and last at Appomattox,” even though their “Cause” was
ultimately lost.

Mixed emotions surely enveloped these toughened veterans as they said
goodbye to their Brothers in Gray, now connected forever by the
hardships and horrors they had endured over the last four years of war.
Forty-thousand of the 125,000 North Carolinians who served the
Confederacy would not return home. But these good men were going home,
home to their wives, home to their children, home to their families. Home.

So come walk this long dusty road with a weary veteran. Though tired, he
still has a little spring in his step as he leaves Ol’ Virginia because
he’s “headin’ south to North Carolina, to that little girl he left there
a-crying.”