Music played a major role in the Civil War, making it perhaps the most musical of all U.S. military conflicts. More songs were written, adapted, sung, and remembered from the Civil War than from any other U.S. war: Estimates suggest that around 9,000 new songs were printed in the North and as many as 750 in the South. The young but vigorous sheet music industry of the mid-nineteenth century capitalized on the event, and the popularity of both religious tunes and minstrel melodies provided affecting music for many purposes, including inspiring crowds at political rallies, recruiting soldiers, accompanying marching and fighting, and comforting soldiers' families at home. Music helped shape attitudes and mark regional identities, and the potentially subversive qualities of some songs were recognized by military leaders, including the Union commander General Benjamin Butler, who tried to destroy all copies of the Southern...