Tom Callinan

Brother Against Brother-Songs, Tunes,
& Tales From The War of Rebellion or Northern Aggression

The depicted is an actual period photo of an unknown Civil War bugler.

Cpl. Willam H. Neal of the 17th Maine Infantry Regiment.  He died at Gettysburg on July 2, 1863

The real Tom Callinan

Celebrating 3 decades in the arts

Drawing on his extensive repertoire of folksongs, sea songs, chanteys, and popular songs and tunes from a variety of times and places, former Connecticut junior high school teacher, Tom Callinan, has constructed a program of diverse songs from and about the Civil War period.

Slave Songs: "Follow The Drinking Gourd" • "The Blue-Tailed Fly" • "No More Auction Block"

Confederate Songs: • "Dixie" • "The Bonnie Blue Flag" • "The Yellow Rose Of Texas" • "Goober Peas" • "Maryland, My Maryland" • "Roll Alabama, Roll" • "That Damn Yankee Lad" • "Lorena" • "Tom Dula"

Yankee Songs: • "The Battle Hymn Of The Republic" • "John Brown's Body" • "Marching Through Georgia" • "The Battle Cry Of Freedom" • "Just Before The Battle, Mother" • "Farewell To Grog" • "Kingdom Coming" • "The Minnesota-O" • "Paddy's Lamentation"

Both Sides: • "Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!" • "Tenting On The Old Camp Ground" • "Oh Susanna" • "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" About: • "Two Brothers" • "Connecticut's 9th"

Tom Callinan's entertaining and informative narrative style brings audiences of all ages into the performance with catchy choruses, interesting anecdotes, and an assortment of musical instruments from the string, wind, and percussion families. Special attention is paid to passing on the fundamentals of the age-old art of spoon-playing to contemporary folk.

"Connecticut's 1st Troubadour Honors
"The Irish Regiment" With Songs & Tunes

In 1861 Connecticut's 9th Volunteer Infantry Regiment was raised and mustered-in at Camp Welsh (a.k.a. Camp English) in New Haven. Consisting mostly of Irishmen, the 9th was known as "The Irish Regiment". Although its members came primarily from the New Haven area, 73 Connecticut towns were represented in its ranks.

The 9th's regimental flag featured a harp, sprigs of shamrocks two cannons, and a federal shield against a field of blue. Crested with an eagle, the words "Erin Go Bragh" (Ireland Forever) appeared on a scroll below the martial and nationalistic symbols. "The 9th" saw action throughout The Civil War, and in 1903 a statue was erected to honor the regiment at City Point (now known as Bayview Park), the very spot where they had been mustered-in.

Each year around Veterans Day, a wreath-laying ceremony is held at Bayview Park (Howard Ave. and Sixth St.), and on numerous occasions Tom Callinan, The Nutmeg State's 1st "Official State Troubadour" has sung his tribute to "Connecticut's 9th" - a blend of his original history-based lyrics, adapted to the tune of a popular 19th Century Irish melody.

Currently Tom serves on a committee of descendants and friends of "The 9th", to raise funds for the erection of a monument at the National Battlefield Park in Vicksburg, Mississippi - tentatively scheduled for its official installation sometime in 2008.

In the summer of 1862, members of "The 9th" toiled along with thousands of federal troops and slaves in a futile attempt to dig "Williams Canal" (later "Grant's Canal") around Vicksburg, "the Gibraltar of the Confederacy". If it had been successful, the canal would have re-routed the Mississippi River so federal shipping could've escaped the barrages from confederate batteries emplaced at Vicksburg. Over 150 members of "The 9th" died that summer from heat, exhaustion, and disease, and the monument will pay tribute to those hitherto unheralded patriots. Tom will be singing his original song entitled "Williams Canal" for the monument's installation in Vicksburg.

Both "Connecticut's 9th" and "Williams Canal" are included in Tom's CD (TC-009) entitled:
"BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER Songs, Tunes, & Tales From And About The American Civil War Period", which may be ordered from our catalog page:
For further information about "The 9th", click here: <9thRegimentHome>

For a link to Quinnipiac University's scan of Thomas Hamilton Murray's 1903 regimental history of "The 9th" in its entirety, click here: