![]() I'd imagine if you were a Greek soldier, probably already aware of the Spartans' reputation for military prowess, hearing something like that would be pretty terrifying. Holding secure in his grasp haft of his sword or his spear! With his foot planted alongside a foot and his shield pressed against shield,Īnd his crest up against crest and his helm up against helmĪnd breast against breast, embroiled in the action-let him fight man to man, With his long spear or his sword, taking the enemy's life, Not where the missiles won't reach, if he is armed with a shield,īut getting in close where fighting is hand to hand, inflicting a wound Here's a brief translation given on his Wiki page: Let a man learn how to fight by first daring to perform mighty deeds, Tyrtaeus was famous for his martial poetry. Athenaeus (paragraph 29), a later historian, says that Spartans sang the poems of their national poet Tyrtaeus when going into battle, in order to keep step. I posted this previously to the recent question about war chants. One such Armenian family outfit made their way to the United States and founded their eponymous make of cymbals - Zildjian ( zil literally coming from the Turkish word for cymbal) - which were crafted more or less off of their indigenous style and quickly became one of the most popular set of cymbals in jazz and later rock music. After the break up of the guild system in the early 19th century, small Mom and Pop cymbal outfits cropped up across the empire. It turns out, more often than not these cymbals were manufactured by a guild that was mostly populated by Armenians. Military bands, so far as I know, had incorporated drums for quite a while, but the Mehter were the first to use cymbals in order ratchet up the racket caused by oncoming armies. Yes the Mehter! What many people don't realize about these folks is that, in a convoluted way, they were responsible for one intrinsic development in 20th century music - the drum set (or, more specifically, the type of cymbals used on a rock or jazz set). If you want to read more about music in the American Civil War, "Battle Hymns: The Power and Popularity of Music in the Civil War" by Christian McWhirter is a very interesting read and "Music of the Civil War Era" by Steven Cornelius is one of the go-to's on the subject. To those not familiar with it, they sing it in the Lincoln movie when they pass the 13th Amendment. It sold between 500,000 and 700,000 copies in sheet music in the North and was only second to "John Brown's Body" (later re-written by Julia Ward Howe as "Battle Hymn of the Republic") in its popularity. The song was immensely popular with soldiers and civilians that by the end of the war, nearly everyone knew the tune there was even a Confederate version of lyrics. Root wrote the song which premiered publicly a mere 22 days later. In the case of "Battle Cry of Freedom", President Lincoln publicly called for 300,000 volunteers on Jand an inspired songwriter and music teacher George F. Interestingly, songwriters were quick to use current events in their music. ![]() They sang songs to boost morale, induce courage in battle, and cope with death and homesickness, but not so much as to scare the opposition in combat.Ī little bit about the song though. Music played a huge role for soldiers during the American Civil War. I only added it because it would have scared the pants off of me. On a further note: Imagine hearing this just days after the destruction of a major force.ĮDIT: Zulu war chant may not be historical. If a little bit of pee didn't trickle down your leg it was probably because were crazy. Then they fade back into the misty mountains. Also, the locals hate you, and they have surprisingly good tactics for a native tribe that had lead to heavy losses for your side. It's much like home, but it's also heavily forested. It's a misty day, as is common in the Northern Island of New Zealand. You have been tasked to re-enforce troops engaged in a heavily fortified Maori position. ![]() So, imagine that you are some English troops - the pride of England in your hands. One such claim from a Union soldier states that the song "put as much spirit and cheer into the camp as a splendid victory.I know that someone else mentioned the Haka, but they didn't add any context to it. There are many anecdotes in diaries, reminiscences, and newspapers concerning the inspirational effects of the song. Root wrote "The Battle Cry of Freedom." The song was first introduced at a war rally in Chicago on Jand was soon sung by millions of Americans from New York to California. In the midst of the Civil War, on July 2, 1862, President Lincoln issued a call for 300,000 volunteers to enter military service.
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