War Reporting in 1812-Through Song by D avid Hi ldebrand, PhD wo hundred years ago, Am eri cans learned their news in various ways, including word of mouth, letters and newspapers, and also, to the point of this article, via song. They did no r, of course, have up-to-the minute video foot age via smart pho nes or any oth er instantaneous, multimedia in fo rmatio n that leaves nothing to the imagination . News took so lo ng to travel that the United States formally declared war after G reat Britain had already acquiesced to our main demand by suspending the res rricrive Orders in C ouncil- we just did no t know that yet. At the o ther end, our ove rwhelming triumph at New Orleans in January of 181 5 occurred two weeks after the signing of rhe Treaty of Ghent thousand s of miles across the ocean. So much for timely news. Lacking detail as well as timelin ess, Americans were expected to create their own m ental images of, say, "Old Ironsides" pumm eling HMS Guerriere, when they eventually learned of this important victory. People at the inland fromi er, in additio n to getting the news considerably later, pro bably had trouble visualizing such a sea battle scene o r understanding the anger felt by New England m aritime communities when rhe embargo was put into place . "Embargo?" as ks the fa rmer in Ohio, "I can still trade my corn crop for uncle Frederick's sm oked venison-so what?" C learly, both economic sympathy and vivid m ental images we re harder to conjure for those who grew up far from the sea, and, for that matter, for most Americans in 201 2 (unless you have just seen the movie M aster and Commander, or the like). What role did music play back then in communicating information , and how can it inform us historically about that era today? The answer: just as it did when it was written- by inviting the listener to create m ental images, with the aid of colo rful , dramati c language and clever, rhym ed wording (rhymes keep us readin g forwa rd, since most of us enj oy the poetic anticipatio n foll owed by resolution). Let us discover some of the m essages and flavor of the times by first examinin g printed sh eer music, which is just one of the manners in which so ngs were spread in Am eri ca around 1812.
Sheet Music Sheer music at this time catered only to the wealthy, who co uld afford the expensive harpsichords or pianos needed to bring this music to life. 1 This top 3-4% could afford the lessons so they could read musical notation and thus convert the complex m arkings of notes, clefs, rime signatures, and so forth into actual, audible music. Most often , such pieces were performed for a sm all circle o f friends and family in the fin e hom es of the wealthy. 1hese were the peop le who could enjoy songs about specific heroes, by performing "The D eath of Lawrence," "D ecatur's Victory," and "Commodore Perry's March ," or the more general "H eroes of the O cean" and "Ye Seaman of C olumbia." Many Americans heard these songs performed in public, at theaters, bur recreating this music at ho me was reserved for rhe wealthy. Printed sheer music commo nl y featured newly composed melodies, although some 1 G ui ta rs were barely sta rrin g to come into fashio n in Am erica at th is time -- it wou ld not be fo r ano th er decade or two after 18 15 that they were co nsidered po pu lar o r co mmo n, a less expensive alterna ti ve to piano.
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were parodies or a mixture of new and old. The rnnes we re often fo rmulaic to the rradirion of eighteenth-century English song, and the lyrics tended to be more refin ed and poetic, such as S. Woodwo rth's "Erie and C hamplain, Or Champlain and Plattsburg, An Ode" (partially set to the rune "Hail to the Chi ef "):
Victory scatter'd profusely the laurel, Over our heroes on land and on Hood Britain astonish'd relinquish'd the quarrel, Peace saw her olive arise from the blood Am erican composers like Jo hn Bray, Jam es H ewitt, C harl es G ilfert, C hristoph er M eineke, and O live r Shaw contributed to this great o urpur of song related to the War of 1812. Their handsome imprints praised our virtuous heroes and told of great deeds in a refin ed fas hi o n.
Newspapers, Broadsides, and Songsters What of the m any people who could not read musical no tatio n and did nor have the mo ney to buy appropriate instrum ents or hire priva te teachers? Luckily, impecuniousness does not preclude music, music just happens a bit less consistently, if not m ore naturally, among the lower classes .2 M os t Americans in the early nineteenth century gained musical skills informally, learning to sin g by ear and play cheaper instruments, perh aps crudely, without henefir of form al in stru ctio n . Fo r them, a vast array of fa mi liar m elodies could be called upo n by ear, such tunes easily rakin g on new lyrics and thereby co nveying the news through what is called parody-the resetting of new lyrics to an old tune, like "Yankee D oodle." (Our national anthem is another good example of parod y, bur therein lies a whole fascinating story; see illustratio n o n page 19, howeve r. ) So middle-class Americans learned their history as retold on city streets via ballad singers, or at ru ral taverns from travelers who had learn ed to gam e a free drink by sharin g a topical song. Since th e runes were literally free and widely known, rhe lyrics found their way into print in three ways, all o f modes t cost. Newspaper editors had a lo ng tradition of printing locally crea ted topical lyrics, as well as lyrics co pied from other newspapers, often with a sugges tio n fo r th e appropriate tune. 1his prac tice dares back through th e Co nsrirn rio nal and Revolutio nary eras, and the number of such songs, their persistence, and wide geographical disseminatio n clearly arres t to the commercial dem and and common practice of singing so ngs about politics and warfare directly from newspapers. Imagine that today at a Starbucks (from an iPad, of co urse) . Likewise broadsides, which we re inexpensive sin gle sheets of text (no r always musical lyrics , by the way), enabled th e musicall y capable to sing new wo rds to old runes . Broadsides were ty peset 2
Today many people enjoy music witho ut the benefit of lessons, having lea rned melodies since chi ldhood just by listening and repeating. If you already know the tu ne, you do n't need musical notation . Yer this era long predates ou r contem pora ry bom ba rd ment by recorded sou nd, so hea ri ng music being perfo rmed at all c. 18 12 on ly occurred in live situations, which were mostly cherished as special and signi fi cant. This is qui re true, bu t ha rd to imagin e.
SEA HISTORY 139, SUMMER 201 2