Index of Songs and Poems Known to the 80th Indiana Soldiers

Titles	*Excerpts*
Battle Cry of Freedom Words and Music by George F. Root. Published 1862. Perhaps the most effective Northern rallying song of the American Civil War.	"Yes we'll rally 'round the flag, boys, We'll rally once again, Shouting the battle cry of Freedom, We will rally from the hillside We'll gather from the plain, Shouting the battle cry of Freedom." Chorus "The Union forever, Hurrah, boys, Hurrah! Down with the traitor, Up with the star; While we rally round the flag, boys, Rally once again, Shouting the battle cry of Freedom."
Dixie's Land Original words and music by Daniel D. Emmett. Published 1859. Dixie (as it was commonly called even then) was the unofficial anthem of the Confederacy, and arguably its' most popular song.	"Wish I was in de land ob cotton, Old times dar am not forgotten, Look away! Look away! Look away! Dixie Land. Dixie Land whar I was born in, Early on one frosty mornin', Look away! Look away! Look away! Dixie Land." Chorus "Den I wish I was in Dixie, Hooray! Hooray! In Dixie Land I'll take my stand, To lib and die in Dixie, Away, Away, Away down south in Dixie, Away, Away, Away down south in Dixie."
Hard Crackers Come Again No More Words by soldiers of the 1st Iowa Regiment. First sung in 1861. A popular soldiers' song sung to the tune of Hard Times Come Again No More. Hard crackers were called hard bread by the Army, and 'hard tack' and 'tooth dullers' by the soldiers.	"Let us close our game of poker, take our tin cups in hand, While we gather round the cook's tent door Where dried mummies of hard crackers are given to each man; Oh, hard crackers come again no more!" Chorus "'Tis the song and the sigh of the hungry, Hard crackers, hard crackers, come again no more! Many days have you lingered upon our stomaches sore, Oh, hard crackers come again no more."
Hard Times in Dixie By M. K. and Eugarps. This song expresses late-war Union sentiment that the end was near for the Confederacy.	"Beat the drum and toll the bell, For hard times in Dixie, Chant rebellion's funeral knell, Hard times in Dixie; And all o'er the land and sea, Floats the banner of the free, Traitors shall forever be, Hard up in Dixie!"
Just Before the Battle, Mother Words and Music by George F. Root. This song was said to be a sentimental favorite with soldiers on both sides in the American Civil War.	"Just before the battle, Mother, I am thinking most of you, While upon the field we're watching, with the enemy in view, Comrades brave are round me lying, fill'd with tho'ts of home and God; For well they know that on the morrow, some will sleep beneath the sod." Chorus "Farewell, Mother, you may never, press me to your breast again; But, Oh, you'll not forget me, Mother, if I'm numbered with the slain."
Mortality By William Knox. Said to be one of President Abraham Lincoln's favorite poems.	"Oh, why should the spirit of mortal be proud? Like a swift-fleeting meteor, a fast-flying cloud, A flash of the lightning, a break of the wave, He passes from life to his rest in the grave."
Tenting on the Old Camp Ground Words and Music by Walter Kittredge. Published 1864. A sentimental favorite of Union and Confederate soldiers, both during and after the American Civil War.	"We're tenting tonight on the old Camp ground, Give us a song to cheer, Our weary hearts, a song of home, And friends we love so dear." Chorus "Many are the hearts that are weary tonight, Wishing for the war to cease; Many are the hearts looking for the right To see the dawn of peace. Tenting tonight, Tenting tonight, Tenting on the old Camp ground."
The Girl I Left Behind Me Words adopted from Samuel Lover. Music is a traditional Irish melody. A leave-taking song popular with both sides during the American Revolution and the American Civil War.	"The hour was sad I left the maid, A ling'ring farewell taking; Her sighs and tears my steps delayed, I thought her heart was breaking; In hurried words her name I blessed, I breath'd the vows that bind me, And to my heart in anguish pressed The girl I left behind me."
There's A Joy For The Heart In This Meeting Words and Music by James M. Stewart. Published in 1864. A sentimental 'parlor song' told from the view point of a woman whose long-absent loved one is returning to her.	"There's a joy for the heart in this meeting, That more than repays for the past, Though the moments at best are but fleeting, They will bring us delight while they last; The days of thine absence were lonely, But now that my darling is nigh, I've a kiss on my lip for him only, And a welcoming smile in mine eye; I've a kiss on my lip for him only, And a welcoming smile in mine eye."
The Vacant Chair Words and Music by George F. Root. Published 1862. A song about the families who had lost loved ones in the American Civil War.	"We shall meet, but we shall miss him, there will be one vacant chair; We shall linger to caress him when we breathe our evening prayer. When a year ago we gathered, joy was in his mild blue eye, But a golden cord is severed, and our hopes in ruin lie."
Thou Art Gone From My Gaze Words and music by G. Linley. Published 1849. A sentimental 'parlor' song that was popular on the homefront.	"In the stillness of night, when the stars mildly shine, My heart fondly holds, a communion with Thine; For I feel thou art near, and where'er I may be, That the Spirit of Love keeps watch over me."
Tramp! Tramp! Tramp! By George F. Root. A Northern song about the yearnings of Union soldiers held as prisoners of war by the Confederacy.	"Tramp, tramp, tramp, the boys are marching, Cheer up comrades, they will come; And beneath the starry flag we shall breathe the air again, Of the free land in our own beloved home."
Union Dixie Music by Daniel D. Emmett. Words by anonymous. One of many unsuccessful Northern attempts to 'recapture' the popular song Dixie's Land that, even today, is associated with the Confederacy.	"Away down South in the land of traitors, rattlesnakes and alligators, Right away! Come away! Right away! Come away! Where cotton's king and men are chattels, Union boys will win the battles, Right away! Come away! Right away! Come away." Chorus "Then we'll all go down to Dixie, Away! Away! Each Dixie boy must understand, That he must mind his Uncle Sam, Away, Away, And we'll all go down to Dixie, Away, Away, And we'll all go down to Dixie."
Was the 80th in the Fight? By ECKLEY. Published in the November 1, 1862 issue of the Clarion newspaper of Princeton in Gibson County, Indiana. This poem expresses the sentiments 'at home' about the 80th's losses in the bloody fighting at Perryville, Kentucky.	"'Twill be many days in Gibson, before we cease to feel The loss sustained in battle, on the field of Perryville. But we wait a brighter dawning, of a day which, come it must, Shall see our Country's enemies, all leveled in the dust. When the Stars and Stripes wave proudly, over every sovereign State, And our nation still be recognized, the greatest of the great."
Weeping, Sad and Lonely Words by Charles C. Sawyer. Music by Henry Tucker. Published in 1862. A sentimental favorite sung on the home front during the American Civil War.	"Dearest love, do you remember when we last did meet, How you told me that you loved me, kneeling at my feet? Oh! how proud you stood before me, in your suit of blue, When you vow'd to me and country, ever to be true." Chorus "Weeping, sad and lonely, Hopes and fears, how vain. When this cruel war is over, Praying! that we meet again."
We Are Coming Father Abra'am Words by James S. Sloan. Music by Luther O. Emerson. Published 1862. A popular Union Army recruiting song, written in response to the call by President Abraham Lincoln ("Father Abra'am") for 300,000 more volunteers.	"We are coming, Father Abra'am, three hundred thousand more, From Mississippi's winding stream and from New England's shore; We leave our plows and workshops, our wives and children dear, With hearts too full for utterance, with but a silent tear; We dare not look behind us, but steadfastly before-- We are coming, Father Abra'am, three hundred thousand more!"
We Were Comrades in the Days of the War By Colonel Joe Whitfield and Colin Coe.	"We have march'd along together in the sun and the rain; We've fac'd the fight together, and together borne the pain! And each one tells his story of the wound or the scar -- We were comrades together in the days of the war."
When the Boys in Blue Are Gone By John Hendricks. A poem by the last living member of the 89th Indiana, which expresses his concern that future generations not forget what Union soldiers fought for.	"When the comrades have departed, When the veterans are no more, When the bugle call is sounded On that everlasting shore. When life's weary march is ended, When campfires slumber long; Who will tell the world the story, When the boys in Blue are gone?

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80th Indiana Volunteer InfantryAn American Civil War Regiment

80th Indiana Volunteer Infantry
An American Civil War Regiment