WARREN SHIVER
The Battle Hymn of the Republic
Author: Julie Ward Howe
(1819-1910)
Composer: William Steffe
(1830-1890)

Julia Ward Howe was born on May 27,1819 in New York City. She was the fourth of seven children born to Samuel Ward III (1786-1839) and Julia Rush Cutler. Her father was a wealthy banker. Her grandfather was a lieutenant colonel in the Continental Army. Lieutenant Samuel Ward II was a son of Samuel Ward, the Colonial Governor of Rhode Island and a delegate to the Continental Congress. Julia was always around the elite in Washington because of her family's political connections.

Julia married in 1843 at age 24 to a hero of the Greek revolution, Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe. He was a great physician, and he was the early director of the "Perkins Institute for the Blind" in Boston Massachusetts. The couple made their home in South Boston. They had six children; all but one lived to adulthood and was active in the "Free Soil Party." She was a member of the Unitarian Church.

Julia became an active abolitionist and fought for other reforms. She engaged in all women's rights movements later in life and played a prominent role in several suffrage organizations. This hymn was born during the American Civil War. In the fall of 1861 Julia along with her husband Dr. Samuel Howe, her pastor, the Reverend James Freeman Clarke and Governor Andrews of Massachusetts visited a Union army camp on the Potomac River near Washington, D. C. They visited the downtown area where they had a great view of the camp.

The city and the surrounding hills and mounds were filled with soldiers. At dusk Howe's party stood on a knoll where they had a great view of the watch fires of a hundred circling camps. A barrage of live fire was launched by the Confederate Army, and Howe's party scurried back to cover, seeking shelter from harm.

The troops in the city streets started singing some of the army songs to build morale. Suddenly they began to sing "John Browns Body." Julia's pastor looked at her and asked, "Why don't you write some good words for that inspiring tune? The tune has a marching tempo and would make a beautiful hymn."

Julia went to bed that night with that great tune on her mind. In the gray dawn the next morning, while lying on her cot, the lines to this famous poem began to form in her mind. Silently she arose from her cot without lighting the lamp, because she did not want to wake the baby. She felt for a piece of scrap paper and a pencil on a nearby table. In the dark she scrawled the now famous verses. Julia returned to Boston in a few days and showed the poem to a friend, James T. Fields, editor of the Atlantic Monthly magazine. He read it, liked it and paid her five dollars ($5.00) for it. He then gave it the title "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." Neither Julia nor the editor could have imagined the reception the hymn

would receive.

On January 28,1908 Julia Howe became the first woman elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She was inducted posthumously into the "Songwriters Hall of Fame" in 1970.

The music for this hymn is credited to William Steffe. He wrote it for a camp meeting song with the traditional," Glory Hallelujah" chorus about 1856. The tune started out as a camp meeting tune, survived the Civil War as a marching tune, and returned to our hymnbooks today as "The Battle Hymn of the Republic."

Stories Behind The Hymns is written by Warren Shiver of Biscoe,NC. Shiver has been fascinated with the true stories behind the hymns since he was a 12-year old attending East Gaffney Baptist Church in Gaffney, S.C. He began studying the stories behind the hymns in 1957. If you have questions or comments, he can be reached by email at wshiver99@embarqmail.com or by mail at PO BOX 775,Biscoe,NC 27209.

Warren has written two books, the first is a 300-page soft back, 104 Of My Favorite Hymn Stories Vol. 1 costs $14.95, the second book, 340-page soft back, 104 Of My Favorite Hymn Stories Vol. 2 costs $16.95. You may buy both books for $25.00. You may pick up your copies of both books at The Gaffney Ledger office on Floyd Baker Boulevard. Warren may be reached by email at wshiver99@embarqmail.com, or by mail at PO Box 775, Biscoe, NC.27209, you may also purchase the books on his website www.myfavoritehymnstories.com. Shipping for both books is $4.00, for one book $3.00. If you would like for Warren to come speak at your church, Sunday school class or any meeting you may contract him at 910-428-9911 or 910-428-4078.

Battle Hymn of the Republic

Verse 1
Mine eyes have seen the glory
Of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage
Where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning
Of his terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.
Chorus:
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.
Verse 2
I have seen Him in the watchfires
Of a hundred circling camps
They have builded Him an altar
In the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence
By the dim and flaring lamps;
His day is marching on.
Chorus:
Verse 3
He has sounded forth the trumpet
That shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men
Before His judgment seat;
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him;
Be jubilant, my feet;
Our God is marching on.
Chorus:
Verse 4
In the beauty of the lilies
Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom
That transfigures you and me;
As He died to make men holy,
Let us die to make men free;
While God is marching on.
Chorus:
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