Channels, Fall 2019

Page 62 Punzi • A Religious Interpretation The verse is introduced by a hypothetical question asking what song the North is singing. The song claims that it is the same song from Exodus 15 after God led Moses and the nation of Israel out of Egypt and through the Red Sea to escape slavery. The song summarizes the content of Moses’ song as “To Canaan! To Canaan!” Exodus 15:1-21 talks about the work of God to deliver Israel and guide them into the “place, O LORD, which thou has made for thee to dwell in” (15:17). In the last three lines, this song connects to the song in Exodus by claiming that the Lord guides the soldiers as He guided Israel, to “strike up the captive’s chains.” The focus of this song is on the Lord leading the North to fight to free the slaves. Interestingly, the song in Exodus comes after God Himself freed the slaves. “To Canaan” uses this narrative allusion to reframe the song as one that motivates the Union to free the captives. Because God had freed the Israelites back in Exodus, the Union confidently fought to end slavery during the Civil War. “The Cross of the South” Most of this song’s second verse alludes to various biblical narratives. “How peaceful and blest was America’s soil,” the song claims, “‘till betrayed by the guile of the Puritan demon, which lurks under virtue and springs from its coil to fasten its fangs in the life-blood of freeman! Then boldly appeal to each heart than can feel and crush the foul viper ‘neath Liberty’s heel!” This image of the devil being crushed by a heel is borrowed from Genesis 3:15, where God curses the serpent. The Genesis prophecy is then fulfilled in Jesus Christ when he dies and resurrects, defeating Satan. The song reassigns the characters in this biblical narrative to those in the Civil War. It ascribes the role of the demon and viper to the North and the task of crushing the demon’s head to the South. The North is said to have betrayed the South and fed on “freemen.” The appeal then is for the South, “Liberty,” to crush the North. This is one of the most elaborate and lengthy narrative allusions in these songs. It does not simply call on God to act similarly to how he did in the past. It takes a narrative text from the Bible and reassigns the characters, the devil and the victor, to the two sides of the Civil War. The South viewed themselves as the savior, called to vanquish the North, the epitome of evil. Conclusion The use of biblical language in Civil War era songs and hymns demonstrates the soldiers on both sides interpreted the war through a religious perspective. They used borrowed biblical language to show belief in a God who is intimately involved with the world and intervenes on behalf of His people to bring about justice and vengeance. The Union believed freeing the slaves related to the liberty described in the Old Testament. The Confederacy identified their mission as a “cross,” a divine mission connected to Jesus Christ. Both sides found their confidence in God fighting for them and identified as morally right. These songs also use textual allusions to specific verses in the Bible to further emphasize their hope and confidence was in the character of God. Lastly, the songs use narrative allusions to identify with the characters and roles in the biblical narrative. The Confederacy saw their opposition to the North as equivalent to Christ conquering the devil. The Union saw their freeing of the slaves as equivalent to God rescuing the nation of Israel from slavery. Both sides made some of the same religious claims and held the same confidence in God. This religious interpretation appears in Civil War era songs and hymns through borrowed biblical vocabulary and textual and narrative allusions.