This piece is a patriotic character piece composed to honor the famous Civil War mascot eagle, Old Abe. It is distinctive for its spirited, rhythmic march-like qualities that evoke 19th-century American popular piano traditions.
Maintain a strict, steady pulse throughout the march sections while ensuring clean articulation of the dotted rhythms.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
"Old Abe," the Battle Eagle is rated Henle level 3 of 9 — late beginner repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 4–5. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 3.
You should be comfortable at Henle level 3 — meaning you can already play level 2–3 pieces cleanly. Learning it one level early is possible as a stretch piece, but more than that usually leads to months of frustration.
A typical performance of "Old Abe," the Battle Eagle lasts about 3 minutes.
"Old Abe," the Battle Eagle is available as free public-domain sheet music on IMSLP — the score is linked directly from this page.
Pieces at a comparable difficulty and character include 'A retirata d''a fanteria by Salvatore Gambardella, Basquaise de 'Le capitaine Fracasse' by Henry Ketten, 'O surdato! by Vincenzo De Crescenzo — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.