Inspired by newspaper headlines, young New Yorker Ethel Beers wrote this poem early in the war. Originally entitled "The Picket Guard," it appeared first in a now-unknown newspaper and then in the November 30, 1861, edition of "Harper's Weekly." It was later set to music by John H. Hewitt, himself a poet, newspaperman, and musician, who was serving in the Confederate army. A genuine (if unintentional) North-South collaboration, it enjoyed tremendous popularity on both sides of the lines.


"All Quiet Along the Potomac"