Fiddles, Banjoes, Mandolins and Dulcimers were musical
instruments used for bands playing music for dancing enjoyed
by almost everyone in America during the Civil War - young
and old, rich and poor, urban and rural, North and South.
During the 1860's, a ball was one way to forget, at least
for an evening, the Civil War. Unlike modern dancing that is
couple oriented, dancing in the mid-Victorian era was much
more "social." Almost all dances were done in formations of
circles, squares or lines, with couples interacting with
other couples. It was considered ill-mannered to dance with
the same partner all evening. Everyone at a ball had a
social duty to mingle and to ensure that everyone else had a
pleasant time.
From the loud field drum that
kept everyone in step to the sentimental songs that soldiers
sang in their free time, music played an extremely important
part in the American Civil War, which lasted for four years.
Songs and ballads were inspirational marching songs written
to boost the morale of soldiers on both sides. Drumbeats
originally served two purposes: to tell soldiers what to do,
and to keep them in step. Drum calls issued commands to
soldiers, while other drumbeats with fife accompaniments
helped soldiers march. Fife music was popular during the war
because the shrill tone of the fife could be heard well
above the rumbling of cannon and the other noises on the
battlefield.
Buglers were crucial in the war because they too were
responsible for sounding out commands. These included
reveille in the morning, tattoo at night (and numerous calls
in between), as well as field commands such as advance and
retreat.
Dancing in the mid-nineteenth century was very different
from dancing today. Back then, there was no separation of
types of dances into various categories. They did not have
events, as we do today, that are solely for ball room,
polka, rock and roll or square dancing. A typical mid-1800's
ball would feature both traditional dances and currently
popular dances. Additionally, almost all dances of the
period were "social dances" that required a group of dancers
to interact with each other in various formations. Dances of
the period were intricate patterns of movements that, to a
certain degree, reflect Victorian notions of cooperation and
their fascination with clockwork machinery.
During the mid-1800's, a typical ball with two dozen dances
might have one to four dances that were couples' dances. It
was not until the later part of the century that couples'
dances became associated with the sophisticated urban ball
room and group dances were relegated to quaint country
barns. Although dancing was part of the courtship ritual,
dancing and mixing with people was seen as a social duty.
That is why it was not proper to dance with the same person
too often. In fact, if the company were large enough, it
would have been considered ill-mannered to dance more than
once with the same person.
