The War Between the States
A Work in Progress

First, let us dispose of the revisionism associated with the name of the late unpleasantness.  It was not a civil war.  No more so than the American Revolution was a civil war.  A civil war is a conflict in which citizens of the same country divide into camps and attempt to seize control of the body politic with the express intent to force their will on the other side, all the while remaining one country.  Examples of true civil wars include the English Civil War, the Glorious Rebellion of 1688, and the French Revolution.  In both the American Revolution and the War for Southern Independence, bodies of citizens declared themselves independent, left the established government and, consequently, fought a foreign power for their liberty.  In both cases, the established government denied the right of citizens to create this schism.  In the former case, the separatists won; in the latter they did not.  Therein lies the difference.  It is a matter of public record that the 'official' name of the conflict is The War Between the States.  In the nineteenth and early twentieth century, Congress was faced with having to frequently refer in official documents to the War agreed to Resolutions that the name would be the 'War Between the States'.

A Few Things You May Find Useful or Enjoy

         
The Cherokee Legion was a militia troop mustered from the men and boys of greater Cherokee County, Georgia, in 1863.  Their intended purpose was to provide services such as guarding railroads and roads.  They served for only a few months  and saw no organized combat.  However, they did serve and their service qualifies their male descendants for membership in the Sons of Confederate Veterans.  This link will take you to the roster of the Legion.  As an aside, the Cherokee Legion was not associated in any official way with the members of the Cherokee Nation who gallantly served the Confederacy.
********

The Diary of Julius Lafayette Dowda, 3rd Georgia Cavalry, Co.F
This document is a remembrance, part diary, part recollection, of service with  the 3rd Georgia Cavalary.  Unfortunately, it contains no names but is an excellent source for the movements of the unit.  Some comments on the skirmishes and everyday type of actions is included.

Songs and Readings

You may need MS Media Player

The song Dixie's Land* (Daniel D. Emmett) is invariably associated with the Confederacy.  The composer, however,  fought in the Union Army and was reputed to have said "...if I had known how it would be used, I would never have written it".   The version here comprises several verses of the original minstrel show tune.  Between verses is an interlude of  The Year of Jubilo (Henry C. Work). 
At the end of the song is what may be the last authentic version of the 'Fox Hunter's Call' that came to be know as the 'Rebel Yell'.  The performers were taught by Douglas Southall Freeman shortly before his death in 1953.  It is easy to imagine the effect of hundreds of voices in full bellow upon those on the receiving end of a charge.   Enjoy!
********
You may need Windows Media Plaer to hear this

General Order No.9*, or General Lee's Farewell to His Troops, was signed on the day after the surrender at Appomattox.  It was read to the troops.  So far as is known, General Lee never spoke the words to his men.  This performance is by the Rev. Edmund Jennings Lee, the first cousin, twice removed, of General Lee.

*This speech and the music is from The Confederacy an LP produced in the mid 1950's (Columbia Records BL-220, which seems to be out-of-print). The music was compiled and directed by Richard Horner Bales (1915-1998). Performers included the National Gallery Orchestra and the Cantata Choir of the Lutheran Church of the Reformation, Washington, D.C.
********
You may need Windows Media Player to hear this.
While Dixie's Land was the best known of the 'Confederate' songs, the honor of being the national anthem was reserved for God Save the South composed in 1861 by Earnest Halprin and Charles Ellerbrock.  The lyrics to the eight stanzas may be found here

This rendition for solo trumpet is found on Homespun Songs of the C.S.A., Volume 1 (Bobby Horton, 1985). Copies are available from, among other sources, Dixie General Store.