Walter Kittredge. "Tenting on the Old Camp Ground." Music and lyrics: Walter Kittredge. First line: "We're tenting to-night on the old camp ground, Give us a song to cheer." First line of chorus: "Many are the hearts that are weary to-night, Wishing for the war to cease." Boston: Oliver Ditson. 1864.

• Score may be found at "The Lester S. Levy Collection of Sheet Music," levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu.
• Walter Kittredge wrote "Tenting on the Old Camp Ground" in the summer of 1863.
• The first time I sung "Tenting" was at Lowell, in the fall of 1863. I was there for a week or more, giving concerts, and the first decisive encore it received was from a policeman. I remember him well. He was standing by, and listened attentively to the song. He went away and came back with a brother officer, and asked me to sing "Tenting" again. During the week I think he must have sent every officer on the force to hear me sing that song.

-- Walter Kittredge, Boston Herald, April 4, 1897

• We do not remember anything finer than the quartet's singing of "Tenting on the Old Camp Ground," last evening; more difficult tasks could, indeed, be set them, but a more beautiful effect of tone could never be attained. -- The New York Times, November 28, 1877, in a notice of a performance by Asa Hutchinson's company
• Evidently this quartet was made up of Asa B. Hutchinson, Oliver Dennett Hutchinson, Ella Ramsdell, and either Etta R. Reed or her eventual replacement, who was announced simply as "Lottie."

Alan Lewis