Stone River: A Folk Song from the Civil War
Download PDF Version of this Lesson Plan Here.
Introduction
The Battle of Stones River was one of the deadliest of the Civil War. It started on Dec. 31, 1862 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. On the following morning, January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation, setting in motion the end to slavery in the United States. The battle ended on Jan. 2, 1863, with over 23,000 men and boys killed, wounded or missing in just two days of battle. Though the battle was indecisive, The Union army led by Rosencrans claimed victory, and Bragg and the Confederates withdrew from Murfreesboro.
Activity
Project map of the Murfreesboro, zooming in on the Nashville-Murfreesboro area https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3951s.cw0216800/?r=0.364,0.428,0.135,0.09,0
- • Murfreesboro is near what larger town? What direction is it from Nashville?
- • What do the jagged black lines represent? (Railroads)
- • What were the primary methods of travel over long distances then? (Railroads, rivers)
Project National Park Service publication that includes a map and details of the battles
https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3962s.ct010597/?r=-0.016,0.535,0.538,0.36,0
Students read about the Battle of Stone River and see a map of the area
- • How would the Union army have moved the 40 miles from Nashville to Murfreesboro?
- • What might the men have been feeling before the first battle took place on Dec. 31?
“Union General Henry M. Cist wrote: ‘Every soldier on that field knew when the sun went down on the 30th that on the following day he would be engaged in a struggle unto death, and the air was full of tokens that one of the most desperate battles was to be fought.’
Military bands played an important role in the Civil War. On the evening of Dec. 30, the military bands of both armies tried to lift the soldiers’ spirits by playing well-loved songs. According to reports, the Union’s band played “Yankee Doodle” answered by the Confederates’ “Dixie,” and the Southerners’ “Bonny Blue Flag” was answered by the Northerners’ “Hail, Columbia,” in a musical battle of the bands. But what happened next was extraordinary: one of the bands started to play “Home, Sweet Home” and both sides joined in, with thousands of soldiers singing along.” https://rutherfordtnhistory.org/bands-battled-on-eve-of-stones-river-clash/
Project photograph of Battle of Stone River, Near Murfreesborough, Tenn.Dec. 31, 62. Jan. 2-3
https://www.loc.gov/item/91482049/
- • What weaponry is represented in this painting of the Battle of Stones River? Which day is this likely to represent, the first or second day of fighting? Is it clear who will win?
Music also played a role in remembering battles and memorializing those who had died. Project score of “Stone River” and listen to recording at https://kodalycollection.org/song.cfm?id=1175
- • When and where was this recording made? How long was this after the battle?
(Informant information is at top of page; students can also notice that it was collected by John Avery Lomax, the curator of the Library of Congress’s Archive of American Folk Song.)
This ballad was based on a 26-verse poem, “The Wounded Soldier,” written by Lieutenant John McKee, of Company K, 74th Ohio regiment. Because he drowned accidentally on his way home, we know it was written near the time of the battle. 160 years later, this song has survived to help us remember the horror and destruction caused by the Civil War.
- • Are poems and songs still used today to memorialize events? Can you think of a recent example? (presidential inaugurations, graduations, weddings, funerals, protests, etc.)
Extension: Find (or create) a song or poem that has been used to commemorate an event.
Another folk song
“Goin’ Across the Mountain” is another folk song that relates to the Civil War and the role that Tennessee, which lay directly between the north and the south, played. https://kodalycollection.org/song.cfm?id=1200.
Prosperous slave-holding farmers lived in the flatter lands to the west of the state while poorer farmers lived in the Appalachian mountains to the east. When the state voted to join the confederacy, thousands of Tennessee men from the mountainous region chose to fight for the union instead. This meant “going across the mountain” to reach the north.
Additional Resources
A detailed lesson plan on the Battle of Stones River that addresses National Curriculum Standards is provided by the National Park Service and is available at:
https://www.nps.gov/teachers/classrooms/upload/TwHP-Lessons_40stones.pdf
A short video about the Battle of Stones River may be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ae30Zk_9xQ
Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Network:
A transcript of Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation: can be found at: https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured-documents/emancipation-proclamation/transcript.html
