William F. Melton contributes the following from the liner notes from "Songs of the Civil War":  "'Our noble Willie,' went to his reward at the Battle of Balls Bluff, VA, Oct. 1861. His death turned into an allegory at Thanksgiving the following month when Henry S. Washburn published a poem laying bare the anguish of Grout's family at his absence from the annual festivities. Washburn's sensitively wrought verse found a sympathetic melody in the hands of George F. Root. One of the most prolific songwriters of the period, Root wrote "The Battle Cry of Freedom", "Tramp!Tramp!Tramp!" and other songs of the Civil War. Their success, like that of "The Vacant Chair", is measured by their popularity with soldiers and families of the North and South."

Note from Susan:  Since I first posted this site in 1997, I have been looking for the sheet music to "The Vacant Chair" so I could sequence a midi file for this page.  Recently, I found two terrific websites -- one with Civil War music midi files, (the source of "The Vacant Chair" midi file here) sequenced by Benjamin R. Tubb  -- and one with sheet music Archives of 19th century American songs.  Finally, we can hear the music to "The Vacant Chair," which is playing as the background of this page.

THE VACANT CHAIR Words by H. S. Washburn Music by George F. Root (1861) We shall meet but we shall miss him./There will be one vacant chair. We shall linger to caress him /While we breathe our ev'ning prayer. When one year ago we gathered, / Joy was in his mild blue eye. Now the golden cord is severed,/And our hopes in ruin lie. CHORUS: We shall meet, but we shall miss him. There will be one vacant chair. We shall linger to caress him While we breathe our ev'ning prayer. At our fireside, sad and lonely, /Often will the bosom swell At remembrance of the story / How our noble Willie fell. How he strove to bear the banner / Thro' the thickest of the fight And uphold our country's honor /In the strength of manhood's might. CHORUS True, they tell us wreaths of glory / Evermore will deck his brow, But this soothes the anguish only, / Sweeping o'er our heartstrings now. Sleep today, O early fallen, / In thy green and narrow bed. Dirges from the pine and cypress / Mingle with the tears we shed. CHORUS		Sheet music illustration from the Rare Book, Manuscript and Special Collection Library at Duke University. Note:  an earlier version of a "Vacant Chair" poem by Richard Coe, Jr. was published in the January 1850 edition of "Godey's Lady's Book".   Aside from the symbolism of the vacant chair, there appears to be no relation.   If you're a student of these things, ask and I'll send you the Coe poem.