Sherman's March to the Sea - Samuel Hawkins Marshall Byers III

During my internship at the Library of Congress, I discovered the manuscript of a poem written about General Sherman's famous march across Georgia. Written in a Columbia, S.C. prison camp in 1864 by Samuel Hawkins Marshall Byers III, 5th Iowa Volunteer Infantry, the poem (originally set to music by John Rockwell, a fellow prisoner) made its way past Confederate lines to General Sherman himself by way of an exchanged prisoner who smuggled the poem out in his wooden leg.

Much like a prison camp musician would do, I arranged the music for what instruments we had available. This trio for horn, viola, and alto saxophone (with dramatic interpretation) showcases the ability of these similarly-ranged instruments to blend their timbres.

The piece was performed in the Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress.

Dramatic reading: Terri Abney
Alto saxophone: Mark Zelesky
Viola: Erin Terwilliger
Horn: Megan Martino

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Civil
• War
• Sherman's
• March
• to
• the
• Sea
• alto
• saxophone
• horn
• viola
• library
• of
• congress
• junior
• fellows
• trio
• dramatic
• reading