Music is a popular form of expression and communication that has been used almost since the beginning of time. It can tell a story of an event or share a person's thoughts and feelings on a specific topic. Know matter how it is used, it is important to society especially during tough times in America like the civil war. Music from the civil war included various messages and tones like uplifting, sad or revolutionary. In some cases, music was used as a way to inspire soldiers to keep on persevering and to send reassurance to their family and other people at home and cause a widespread act of patriotism. The songs were used as a binding force among the various communities throughout the country. Many civil war songs did a good job on joining people together and leading them to support one another and fight as one. Two songs that did just that are "Battle Hymn of the Republic" by Julia Ward Howe and "God Will Defend the Right" by Bobby Horton. Howe was inspired to write her song from a current war song at the time called "John Brown's Body" (Tubb).  Songs of the civil war created a nationwide progression of people coming together through religious incentives and patriotism. 

Through the wording of these two songs, the ideologies of America are revealed. The songs were written during a critical time of conflict for the citizens of the nation, tearing apart friends and families. In times like these music was an outlet for some people. The lyrics to both "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "God Will Defend the Right" show how music was a way for soldiers and the other citizens to release their emotions about the war, and in these two cases they used it to bring unity to a specific group of people like the Union and Confederacy. The "Battle Hymn of the Republic" was directed toward the Union army. It used religious and army themes to relate to the Union army men (Tubb). "God Will Defend the Right" was written in support of the Confederate army and their separation from the North. Both songs work on unifying the soldiers with each other in each army. The songs can be compared to pep talks or motivational speeches. They have the same effects as motivational speeches do because of the words used in the songs. In "Battle Hymn of the Republic" they say "His truth is marching on" (Howe 4) which serves to inspire and uplift the soldiers. It motivates them carry on the truth of the Lord throughout their fight. In "God Will Defend the Right" the song inspires the soldiers to fight by saying "Strike for our mothers now, for daughters, sisters, wives" (Horton 53-54). This is like a motivational talk because it is reminding the soldiers the people they are fighting for and giving them another purpose to fight. In both of the two songs, the most important purpose is revealed as God's purpose. 

In "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "God Will Defend the Right," religion plays as the main concept of the songs. The singers of the songs use God as the reason to carry on with the civil war. In the first stanza of "Battle Hymn of the Republic," it states "Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored ...  His truth is marching on" (Howe 1-4). These lines from the song represent how the soldiers feel about God and relate it to their actions. They are saying they have seen God marching with them in the fight. The next verse of the song says "I have seen Him in the watchfires of a hundred circling camps" (Howe 7). This is putting God directly there as one of the soldiers and it means that they believe God is with them on and off the battlefield. It reveals the importance religion is to many of the soldiers. The worlds could make one think that God is dressed in the same battle suites as them and eating the same food as them around the campfire. The same type of thing is done in the other song and specifically it is seen in the title which also appears in the chorus "God will defend the right." These soldiers are saying God is granting them the privilege to fight and is standing by them. This is important to many of the soldiers since some of them may not be sure if fighting in a civil war is the right move, but the song can help validate any misconceptions they have. In the first verse after the chorus the song says "Our flag shall proudly stream, defiant of assault. With bars of the rainbow's brightest beam and stars from the heaven's blue vault" (Horton 17-20). These lines are indirectly portraying the presence of God appearing by their flag, which was an important artifact to the Confederate army. This is used by the soldiers as another sign of the presence of God during their fight. These songs serve as constant reminders to the soldiers and the people as to why they are on the battlefield fighting and that is because they are doing it to create justice in the name of the Lord. In "Battle Hymn of the Republic" two lines in the very last stanza state "As he died to make men holy, let us die to make men free." This is the soldiers relating their actions to the actions of Jesus. They are talking about how Jesus came to save the world and in doing so he gave up his own life, and this is being compared to the actions of the soldiers on the battlefield. The soldiers in the song say that they believe they are carrying out the will of God just like his son did, and that they are fighting and risking their lives for the people of their country. They are saving the lives of the people they do and do not know like Jesus did. The religious aspects of the songs also make war seem more humane than what it really is and seems. Also, they are making it seem like God justifies their actions so the people who consider it wrong will now consider it right. It seems like the soldiers want everyone to believe that war is the right thing to do. The images the two songs portray almost make war seem inevitable, but the right thing since God is on that battlefield and carrying the flag with the soldiers. Not only did the civil war songs relate to religion, but they also encouraged patriotism.

Civil war songs played a large role in spreading patriotism. In "God Will Defend the Right" the song unites the southern Confederate soldiers by using words that inspire and would make the soldiers want to come together and fight for their rights against the Union. The first line of each chorus "Sons of the south arise" makes it known that the singer is talking to all men in the south and wants them to join together. The last line in each chorus says "Home of the brave and free," which is effective in getting the idea of patriotism across. It is using words that are from the very beginning of American history and are the ideals for which America was built on. By using these words in the song, the soldiers and people feel pride for their country that they are fighting to save. The songs of the civil war time period featured numerous musical works that were brought about to inspire either the North to join together or the South to join together. In contrast, the song "Battle Hymn of the Republic" does not center its focus on patriotism directly, but it still accomplishes the goal through relating it to God and fighting to save each other. Although it is heavy with gospel-like words, the song does its job on uniting the people closer together. 

The songs for the civil war were used as weapons and outlets to inspire the citizens about the war through religion and patriotism. Religious aspects of the songs create a more calming nature of war and help to tie together all religious people to support the civil war. The patriotism in the songs create a sense of unity among both the Union and Confederacy. It brought people all over the country together, including soldiers on the battlefield. Civil war music was definitely something crucially important for Americans to have during the hard time of separation and war within their own country. The music brought a soothing peace and reminded the people of their purpose and reasoning for everything happening. The civil war music was not the first of its kind and definitely was not the last, but it is very important to all historical battle songs. 

