Three Union Civil War songs by H. Webster Canterbury printed broadside

Access and use

Location of collection:
George Mason University
2400 Fenwick Library
Special Collections Research Center
Fenwick Library MS2FL
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22030
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Mieko Palazzo
Phone: (703) 993-2220
Fax: (703) 993-2669
Restrictions:

There are no access restrictions.

Terms of access:

Public Domain. There are no known restrictions.

Preferred citation:

Three Union Civil War songs by H. Webster Canterbury printed broadside, C0548, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries

Summary

Extent:
.01 Linear Feet 1 folder
Creator:
Canterbury, H. Webster
Abstract:
Single-sided printed broadside featuring lyrics for three Union Civil War songs by H. Webster Canterbury.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Three Union Civil War songs by H. Webster Canterbury printed broadside, C0548, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries

Background

Scope and content:

Single-sided printed broadside featuring lyrics for three Union Civil War songs by H. Webster Canterbury including "The American Nation," "Jedidiah's Trip to Washington," and "Our Yankee Boys Are Marching On." The song lyrics are divided into three columns and the broadside appears to have been previously folded into a trifold pamphlet. "The American Nation" includes a sub-heading before the beginning of the lyrics reading "Air – Star Spangled Banner," indicating that the lyrics were to be sung to this existing melody.

Biographical / historical:

Broadsides (also known as "broadside ballads") were an inexpensive format of mass publication consisting of a single printed sheet, usually single-sided, containing song lyrics that were often topical in nature and meant to document or comment on current events. As such, broadsides were particularly popular in the United States during the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Civil War, many containing lyrics that documented events with humor, often satirically.

Throughout the Civil War these newly written songs served many functions for both the Union and Confederate armies, including entertaining soldiers and communicating orders on the battlefield, and the style and tone of these songs changed as the war itself evolved, with the beginning years seeing an emphasis on patriotic songs and the later years transitioning to an emphasis on homesickness and lamentations on the long duration of the conflict. Broadside ballads contained no musical notation and were intended to be sung to existing melodies, such as the "The Star-Spangled Banner." H. Webster Canterbury appears to have written a number of these patriotic songs for the Union army, but his role in the war itself and personal history beyond these songs is unclear.

Acquisition information:
Purchased from Caroliniana Rare Books by Lynn Eaton in 2022.
Processing information:

Processing completed by Meghan Glasbrenner in March 2026. Finding aid completed by Meghan Glasbrenner in April 2026.

Arrangement:

This is a single item collection.

Physical location:
R 73, C 2, S 4
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard