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The Merrill Horse, or the Guerrillas Conquered

Rationale By
Jennifer Paulsen
Link/Citation

Polyhymnia Composer. The Merrill Horse. Saint Louis: W. M. Harlow, 1863. Notated Music. https://www.loc.gov/item/2023783597/.

Source Type:
Sheet Music and Song Sheets
Suggested Grade Level and Audience: Grade 7, Grade 8, Grade 9, Grade 10, Grade 11, Grade 12
Instructional value of primary source for the curriculum and/or classroom

This song was written in the middle of the Civil War from the northern point of view, detailing the microcosm of neighbor-on-neighbor, brother-on-brother violence experienced by Missourians, which reflects the larger conflict in the nation.

Summary/Description

This is a song from a Northern point of view written in the middle of the Civil War, which tells the story of multiple battles with southern sympathizers in the state of Missouri.

Context for the Primary Source

During the Civil War, the state of Missouri was divided into northern and southern sympathizers. While officially a slave state, the Missouri Legislature voted to remain in the Union. Those who sympathized with the Southern cause formed militias and neighbors fought one another. Merrill's Horse was a special cavalry unit tasked with ending the rebellion of the southern guerrillas. This time period of unprecedented violence on the Kansas-Missouri border was known as "Bloody Kansas," as people flocked to Kansas to vote according to their ideological alignment with the institution of slavery. Merrill's Horse, along with many other military units, succeeded in containing the rebellion. 

Focus Question(s)
  • What is the "Merrill Horse"?
  • Who are the "guerrillas" referred to in the song?
  • What are you noticing about the events in the song? What are you wondering?
  • After researching one of the events mentioned, how do the historical facts compare to the song version of events?
  • How does the cover contribute to the celebratory nature of the song?
Standards Connections

Iowa Academic Standards

RH.6-8.2: Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.

  • When examining a primary source, students should be able to identify the central idea, and this is a cover that has a focused central idea, and students can examine lyrics and draw similar conclusions. .

Anchor Standard-Reading-6: Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text. (from the Iowa Academic Standards for Language and Literacy, Standards for English Language Arts 6–12, College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Reading, Craft and Structure.)

  • Students should also be able to analyze the point of view of the creator of the source toward the subject of the source. The lyrics in the sheet music will be a strong place to start to teach this standard.
Suggested Teaching Approaches
  • Have students research one person or battle mentioned in the song and share their findings with the class.
    • Silver Creek Battle
    • Poindexter
    • Porter
    • Major Hunt
    • Merrill
  • Compare the events in Missouri to the larger conflict happening in the nation.
  • Compare one state’s battles to the more noted battles of the Civil War. Draw comparisons between one such battle listed and a state battle. Civil War Battles of Note: Gettysburg, Antietam, Vicksburg, Shiloh, First Battle of Bull Run, Chancellorsville, Fredericksburg, Chickamauga, and the Seven Days Battles.
  • Research other ballads/music associated with wartime: Yankee Doodle Dandy, The Star SPangled Banner, My Country ‘Tis of Thee, Battle Hymn of the Republic, and draw conclusions among at least three of the pieces of music.
Potential for Challenge

Some may be uncomfortable with this source's celebratory nature in regard to wartime violence, believing it to be too violent for middle school students.

Alternative or Complementary Primary Sources
  1. Three Years with Quantrell; a true story is a memoir that tells the opposite viewpoint of the Merrill Horse song, so it would be a good companion in balancing out the bias of the song. If one wants to only study the side of Quantrell's guerrillas, the southern side of the Civil War, then it would be a good primary source to study. 
  2. The Battle Hymn of the Republic is a more known song and could be used as a different way to start the lesson, the transfer over to a more state-specific look at the Civil War.  
Additional References
  1. The National Park Service provides an official record of the Merrill's Horse Regiment's activities, which may help with ascertaining the accuracy of the source. 
  2. The National Archives provides background on the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which set the stage for the later events in Missouri during the Civil War. 
Subject:
Language and Literature , Music/Recorded Sound/Performing Arts
Topics:
Arts and Culture , History , Performing Arts
Year/Date of Creation or Publication
1863