| Maryland, My Maryland: Music and Patriotism during the American Civil War Subjects: Music -- Political aspects -- United States -- History -- 19th century; Randall James Ryder 1839–1908. Maryland my Maryland; United States -- History -- Civil War 1861–1865 -- Music and the War; Maryland -- History -- Civil War 1861–1865 -- Music and; Historians have long treated the patriotic anthems of the American Civil War as colorful, if largely insignificant, side notes. Beneath the surface of these songs, however, is a complex story. "Maryland, My Maryland" was one of the most popular Confederate songs during the American Civil War, yet its story is full of ironies that draw attention to the often painful and contradictory actions and beliefs that were both cause and effect of the war. Most telling of all, it was adopted as one of a handful of Southern anthems even though it celebrated a state that never joined the Confederacy. James A. Davis is a professor of musicology at the School of Music, State University of New York at Fredonia. He is the author of Music along the Rapidan: Civil War Soldiers, Music, and Community during Winter Quarters, Virginia, 1863-1864 (Nebraska, 2014) and editor of several books, including The Arts and Culture of the American Civil War . |