"Dear Sister" is a modern Bluegrass song. It well deserved being named the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) song of the year for 2014. It was co-written by Claire Lynch and Louisa Branscomb, inspired by the book "Dear Sister, Civil War Letters to a Sister In Alabama" by Frank Anderson Chappel (Branch Spring Publishing, 2002). Claire Lynch's clear, plaintive singing, along with the playing by her band calls forth images inspired by the words of the song.
The song is broadly based on letters written home during the Civil War by four brothers from Alabama, members of the Third Alabama Infantry regiment. The song "Dear Sister" is supposedly written by one of the brothers before the Battle of Stones River or the Second Battle of Murfreesboro fought from December 31, 1862 to January 2, 1863. The two armies involved were those of Union Major General William S. Rosecrans's Army of the Cumberland and General Braxton Braggs's Army of Tennessee. On New Year's Day, January 1, 1863, both observed the day rather quietly, tending to their wounded, and apparently serenading each other with battle songs, and finally both sides joined in singing "Home Sweet Home." The next day, the fighting continued.
The Union forces suffered a total of 24,645 casualties and a total of 12,906 were suffered by the Confederates. Since about 76,400 men were engaged by both sides, this is the highest percentage killed and wounded in any major battle of the Civil War.
The map at the start of this blog is of the Union and Confederate forces at the start of day on January 2, 1863.
The first link here is to a YouTube Video of Claire Lynch and her band playing "Dear Sister." The second link is to another YouTube Video of "Dear Sister" filmed mostly on the Stones River Battlefield and is very evocative .
This blog was uploaded on the 152th year anniversary of the date of this battle.
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The song is broadly based on letters written home during the Civil War by four brothers from Alabama, members of the Third Alabama Infantry regiment. The song "Dear Sister" is supposedly written by one of the brothers before the Battle of Stones River or the Second Battle of Murfreesboro fought from December 31, 1862 to January 2, 1863. The two armies involved were those of Union Major General William S. Rosecrans's Army of the Cumberland and General Braxton Braggs's Army of Tennessee. On New Year's Day, January 1, 1863, both observed the day rather quietly, tending to their wounded, and apparently serenading each other with battle songs, and finally both sides joined in singing "Home Sweet Home." The next day, the fighting continued.
The Union forces suffered a total of 24,645 casualties and a total of 12,906 were suffered by the Confederates. Since about 76,400 men were engaged by both sides, this is the highest percentage killed and wounded in any major battle of the Civil War.
The map at the start of this blog is of the Union and Confederate forces at the start of day on January 2, 1863.
The first link here is to a YouTube Video of Claire Lynch and her band playing "Dear Sister." The second link is to another YouTube Video of "Dear Sister" filmed mostly on the Stones River Battlefield and is very evocative .
This blog was uploaded on the 152th year anniversary of the date of this battle.
I