Richard Wentworth Browne relates that a day or two after Lee's surrender in April, 1865, he visited Richmond, in company with some other Union officers. After a day of sight-seeing, the party adjourned to Mr. Browne's rooms for dinner. After dinner one of the officers who played well opened the piano, saying, "Boys, we have our old quartette here, let's have a song." As the house opposite was occupied by paroled Confederate officers, no patriotic songs were sung. Soon the lady of the house handed Mr. Browne this note: "Compliments of General ---- and staff. Will the gentlemen kindly allow us to come over and hear them sing?" Consent was readily given and they came. As the General entered the room, the Union officers recognized instantly the face and figure of an officer who had stood very high in the Confederacy. After introductions, and the usual interchange of civilities, the quartette sang for them glees and college songs, until at last the General said, "Excuse me, gentlemen, you sing delightfully, but what we want to hear is your army songs." Then they gave them the army songs with unction: _The Battle Hymn of the Republic_; _John Brown's Body_; _We're coming, Father Abraham_; _Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, the Boys are Marching_; and so on through the whole catalogue to the _Star-Spangled Banner_,--to which the Confederate feet beat time as if they had never stepped to any but the music of the Union,--and closed their concert with Root's inspiring _Battle Cry of Freedom_. [Illustration: _FORT SUMTER_] When the applause had subsided, a tall, fine-looking young fellow in a major's uniform exclaimed, "Gentlemen, if we'd had your songs we'd have licked you out of your boots! Who couldn't have marched or fought with such songs? while we had nothing, absolutely nothing, except a bastard Marseillaise, _The Bonny Blue Flag_, and _Dixie_, which were nothing but jigs. _Maryland, my Maryland_ was a splendid song, but the tune, old _Lauriger Horatius_, was about as inspiring as the Dead March in _Saul_, while every one of these Yankee songs is full of marching and fighting spirit." Then turning to the General he said, "I shall never forget the first time I heard that chorus, 'Rally round the Flag.' It was a nasty night during the Seven Days' fight, and if I remember rightly, it was raining. I was on picket, when just before 'taps' some fellow on the other side struck up _The Battle Cry of Freedom_ and others joined in the chorus until it seemed to me that the whole Yankee army was singing. A comrade who was with me sang out, 'Good heavens, Cap, what are those fellows made of, anyway? Here we've licked them six days running, and now, on the eve of the seventh, they're singing "Rally round the Flag?"' I am not naturally superstitious, but I tell you that song sounded to me like the knell of doom; my heart went down into my boots; and though I've tried to do my duty, it has been an uphill fight with me ever since that night."