Today, April 12, 1861 was the beginning of the American Civil War. Here at the Recorded Sound Archives as a bit of music history we wanted to share a piano roll of a song from that time period “Just before the Battle, Mother” which was a popular song during the American Civil War, particularly among troops in the Union Army. It was originally written and published by George F. Root in 1863.

Enjoy the video below of Ben Roth, Sound Archivist for the Recorded Sound Archives as he plays a piano roll featuring this song.

You can listen to a recorded version of this song by J.W. Myers from 1904 on the Recorded Sound Archives website. Click here to listen: https://rsa.fau.edu/album/57570