Much of the music written during the Civil war was shared and sung by soldiers on both sides of the conflict. Many of the popular tunes had different sets of lyrics written to them, depending on whether you were a Union soldier or a Confederate soldier. Often, the two opposing armies would be camped close enough to the other to be able to hear each other's bands playing. Sometimes this would lead to a friendly "battle of the bands", one side playing a tune, then the other side playing the same tune, each trying to play it better, faster and louder than the first. Many times the bands would play music from, and for both sides - bringing together both Blue and Gray, if only for a short while.

Learn more about this interesting event in history with Dennis Hermann on May 12th at 7:00 p.m. at the O'Fallon Public Library.  This program will be held in the library's meeting room and there is no charge to attend.

Hermann was born and raised in Belleville, Illinois.  He now resides in Swansea with his wife, Julie.  He served in the army for three years, earned his bachelor and master degrees, has taken many career paths including owning a real estate investment firm, and was Director of Marketing for the Southwestern Illinois Tourism Bureau.

He is a member and past President of the St. Clair County Genealogical Society.  His passion for the American Civil War has led him to research, write, and make presentations on the Civil War, especially on regiments and soldiers from Illinois.  He also assists individuals in finding their Civil War ancestors.

After "The Battle of the Bands" there will be a short presentation about Illinois in the Civil War, and soldiers from St. Clair County and O'Fallon.

Assisting Mr. Hermann will be Mike Kimbrell, a very talented member of the Belleville Philharmonic Chorale.