“Was My Brother in the Battle?” was submitted for copyright entry on August 8, 1862, by Horace Waters of New York. The copyright ledgers (Southern New York, Vol. 66, p. 33) indicate August 8, 1862, as the date of deposit, however the copyright deposit copy at Library of Congress is dated August 9.

WARNING: This is a blackface minstrel song, a genre that features demeaning caricatures rooted in racism and white supremacy.

“Way Down in Ca-i-ro” was submitted for copyright on April 17, 1850, by Firth, Pond & Co. of New York. 

There is no record of copyright entry or deposit for “We Will Keep a Bright Lookout,” but the copyright claim on page 3 of the earliest edition of the sheet music gives the year 1863. George Cooper authored the lyrics.

“We’ll Still Keep Marching On” was included in Waters’ Golden Harp for Sunday Schools, which was submitted for copyright deposit on April 14, 1863, by Horace Waters. It was later republished in The Athenaeum Collection of Hymns and Tunes for Church and Sunday School (New York: Horace Waters, 1863). The lyrics are by Mrs. Mary Ann Kidder.

There is no record of copyright entry or deposit for “We’ve a Million in the Field.” The copyright claim on the title page and page 3 of the earliest edition is for 1862.

“What Must a Fairy’s Dream Be?” was entered for copyright deposit by W. C. Peters, Cincinnati on October 18, 1847.

According to Evelyn Foster Mornweck’s The Chronicles of Stephen Foster’s Family:

“When Dear Friends Are Gone” was submitted for copyright deposit on May 7, 1864, by P. A. Wundermann of New York. The copyright claim on the title page is for 1863, but the date has been changed by hand to 1864 on the copyright deposit in the Library of Congress.

For SATB choir and piano.

“When the Land Was White with Moonlight," a song by Ethelbert Nevin, was published by the Boston Music Co. in 1893 in A Book of Songs, op. 20. Anna Reeve Aldrich wrote the text. 

For solo voice and piano. The originally sheet music indicated that the piece was “respectfully dedicated to Dr. Cornell Everette Talley, D. D. Pastor of Central Baptist Church Wylie Avenue and Kirkpatrick Street Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania President of Pennsylvania Baptist State Convention.”

Although the song was not submitted for copyright until December 9, 1895, by publisher George Mercer Jr., it was probably composed in 1847. The song was dedicated to Mary Keller, to whom Foster had previously dedicated “There’s a Good Time Coming.” This song was intended as a tribute shortly after Keller’s death and probably was not intended for publication. The manuscript remained in the Keller family until 1895, when Mrs. J. J. Vandergrift obtained it from Rachel Keller Woods (Mary’s sister) and arranged for publication of the song. 

“While the Bowl Goes Round” was submitted for copyright deposit on August 12, 1870, by John J. Daly of New York. The author of the lyrics is George Cooper.

A sketch for the words of a song titled “When the Bowl Goes Round” appears in Foster’s manuscript book. The position of the song, among a group of sketches for unpublished songs framed by “Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair” and “Come with Thy Sweet Voice Again” suggests that Foster worked on it in the summer 1854. Except for the title and the topic of the song, this sketch bears little resemblance to the published song. 

Stephen C. Foster wrote this song to be sung by the Buchanan Glee Club, a group he co-founded to perform in support of Democratic candidates in the 1856 election. A book of minutes detailing some of the group’s activities survives in the Foster Hall Collection. Foster drafted the lyrics in his sketchbook (see the links to manuscript pages below), and they were first published in the Pittsburgh Post during election season on September 29, 1856.

Firth, Pond & Co. deposited Stephen C. Foster’s “The Wife” for copyright on February 9, 1860. The first edition was published with the incorrect copyright date of 1868 on the first page. The publisher’s manuscript is dated August 1, 1859.

According to Evelyn Foster Morneweck’s The Chronicles of Stephen Foster’s Family:

“Willie My Brave” was submitted for copyright on October 21, 1851. An arrangement with guitar accompaniment was submitted for copyright on August 23, 1853, by Firth, Pond & Co.

According to Evelyn Foster Mornweck’s The Chronicles of Stephen Foster’s Family:

“Willie’s Gone to Heaven” was submitted for copyright deposit on January 31, 1863, by Horace Waters of New York.

From Evelyn Foster Mornweck’s The Chronicles of Stephen Foster’s Family: