by Lisa Schauer
The Hancock Civil War String Band performed a rousing and educational live rendition of historical songs, music and spoken word in the Hancock Performing Arts Center at Town Hall on Sunday, January 14.
The free concert was produced by Hancock Arts Council and promoted by Canal Towns Partnership on social media.
Band members told the stories of the Civil War through letters, legends, music, and song. Stories included those about the Battle of Hancock, Stonewall Jackson, Harriet Tubman, and Clara Barton.
In the face of grave danger, Tubman, a former slave from Maryland, may have traveled through Hancock on her journeys along the Underground Railroad, because the Potomac River is shallow enough to cross on foot here, from old Virginia, into a small slice of Maryland, and on to freedom awaiting in Pennsylvania, explained a lead member of the band.
Tubman was known as “Moses” because she led her people to freedom, like Moses did in the Bible, the artist explained, launching the band into a heartfelt gospel number that freedom seekers would have sung during the Civil War.
The band also played patriotic songs by Stephen Foster, Appalachian ballads, and soulful laments.
Onstage with an accordion, banjo, guitars, fiddles, bass and vocal harmonies, the Hancock Civil War History String Band delivered a stirring performance that brought the music and stories of the Civil War to life.
