Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

This collection contains material related to Daniel Decatur Emmett and the song "Dixie," which he published in 1860. The collection has 4 autograph items by Emmett, an additional letter, a photograph, and a first edition music score.

This collection contains material related to Daniel Decatur Emmett and the song "Dixie," which he published in 1860. The collection has 4 autograph items by Emmett, as well as an additional letter, a signed photograph of Daniel Emmett, and a first edition music score of "Dixie" (1860). Two items concern the debate about the song's authorship. The collection also includes an undated holograph manuscript of Emmett's song "Old Dan Tucker." See the Detailed Box and Folder Listing for more information.

The J. F. Rose collection contains lyrics for 3 undated patriotic and religious songs, as well as an early 20th-century essay about popular music during the Civil War.

The J. F. Rose collection contains lyrics for 3 undated patriotic and religious songs, as well as an early 20th century essay about popular music during the Civil War.

• "Along the Rio Grande," supporting the American cause during the Mexican-American War, with pencil annotations (2 pages)
• "Lost, O Forever Lost. The awakened Sinner," reflecting on salvation and the death of Jesus Christ (2 pages)
• "A Toast to Our Flag," a celebration of the American flag (2 pages)

The essay and its typescript are similar drafts of Rose's "Songs of the Civil War"; the manuscript version (36 pages) is an annotated draft, with portions absent from the typed copy (10 pages). The essay, written around 45 years after the war's conclusion, briefly traces the history of popular patriotic music in Europe and in the United States before discussing the Civil War-era's most popular tunes. Rose examined songs from the Union and Confederacy, citing many of the war's influential songs, such as "Maryland, My Maryland" and "John Brown's Body Lies Mouldering in the Grave." He analyzed several songs within the context of the wartime events that inspired them, including the story of the writing of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" by Julia Ward Howe. The typed copy of the essay ends abruptly, and is followed by the text of "Along the Rio Grande."

The Samuel F. Smith collection contains material related to the author of the poem "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" ("America"), including holograph manuscripts of the lyrics, correspondence, and photographs.

The Samuel F. Smith collection contains material related to the author of "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" ("America"). Many items pertain to the song, such as holograph copies of the lyrics signed by the author and a facsimile of its first printed version. Other items include handwritten copies of the poem "The Eve of Decoration Day" and the hymn "The Morning Light is Breaking," along with a letter to D.A. Wilbur in which Smith expressed doubts about the legitimacy of what Wilbur believed to be an original copy of "The Morning Light is Breaking" (January 4, 1895).

The collection also has several personal letters that Smith wrote near the end of his life, a brief autobiographical statement, a prose work entitled "The Prayer," a statement about the Harvard College Class of 1829, and several portraits, including one bearing Smith's autograph. Also included is a printed program from a "Testimonial Benefit Tendered to Rev. S. F. Smith, D. D.," held on April 3, 1895, as well as a published volume, Poems of Home and Country, once owned by J. F. C. Hyde. See the Detailed Box and Folder Listing for a complete inventory.