98

L.V. Phillips.

The Battle of Stone's River, an unrecorded soldier composition.

No place, circa 1863
Letterpress broadside, 9¼ x 5¾ inches; worn, separating at folds, foxing and dampstaining. 

  • Notes: The author Levi V. Phillips (1829-1904) was a sergeant in the 27th Illinois Infantry, and wrote this song to commemorate his regiment's service at the Battle of Stones River, or Second Battle of Murfreesboro. In 23 verses sung to the tune of "Battle of Waterloo," he describes the days-long pursuit of Bragg's Confederates through rain and mud, the deaths of his regiment's Colonel Fazilo A. Harrington and his brigade commander Colonel George Roberts, and the skill of the Union's leader General William Rosecrans: "We fought them there for six days long / The rebel Bragg with all his throng / But old Rose was wise awake / And Murfreesboro was bound to take."

    We have traced no examples of this song other than this survivor, which appears to have been stored in a soldier's wallet through the closing years of the war. 
  • Condition:
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November 20, 2025 10:30 AM EST
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