About the Author

Christian McWhirter is assistant editor for the Papers of Abraham Lincoln in Springfield, Illinois, USA.

Reviews

Battles Hymns convincingly combines historical and musicological perspectives by illustrating the mutual enrichment of music and extramusical culture.--Register of the Kentucky Historical Society

A fascinating examination of how popular songs defined and unified ideologies during the Civil War.--Southern Register

A wealth of practical information on who composed what, when, and under what circumstances. [McWhirter's] discovery of minute details concerning the origins of popular Civil War songs constitutes a real contribution to this area of specialization.--Civil War Book Review

A welcome addition to the historiography of the Civil War and the music of the period.--The Annals of Iowa

An extensive, descriptive account of music during the American Civil War.--Journal of American History

McWhirter's deft and entertaining use of anecdotal material to support his arguments will appeal to a wide audience.--Tennessee Libraries

Much more than a treat for lovers of good history writing and a fresh look at well-trodden fields, it is also a painful reminder of just how divided a nation we were at birth, and how those divisions live with us still.--Huffington Post Arts & Culture

No historian has done more than Christian McWhirter to open our ears to Civil War music as a very powerful expression of political action.--McCormick Messenger

Recommended. Lower - and upper-division undergraduates; graduate students; professionals; general readers.--Choice

This excellent book will stand as the definitive study on the subject for many years to come.--Society of Civil War Historians Newsletter