In 2013 John Stauffer and Benjamin Soskis published a book in which they trace “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” to 1807 (1). This piqued my curiosity, so I did some research of my own.
THE WORDS
Tracing the words backwards, it is documented that Julia Ward Howe wrote “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” in November, 1861. She reported that she did so after hearing Federal soldiers singing “John Brown’s Body,” with the refrain “Glory, glory hallelujah.”
In turn, “John Brown’s Body” was reportedly written by soldiers at Boston’s Fort Warren in April, 1861, allegedly to poke fun at a soldier named John Brown by comparing him to abolitionist John Brown, who has hanged at Charles Town, Virginia in December, 1859.
This is where some researchers have gone astray. Most assert that “John Brown’s Body” was a knock-off of “Say, brothers, will you meet us,” a popular camp meeting song:
1. Say, brothers will you meet us (x3) on Canaan’s happy shore.
Chorus: Glory, glory hallelujah (x3) forever, ever more.
2. By the grace of God we’ll meet you (x3) where parting is no more.
3. Jesus lives and reigns forever (x3) on Canaan’s happy shore.
Certainly, the rhyme scheme is the same, but there is little overlap in the words. A word search at hymnary.org disclosed the true antecedent of “John Brown’s Body”: “When this poor body lies mouldering in the tomb,” published in The Chorus: or, a Collection of Choruses and Hymns (7th Ed. Philadelphia: A.S. Jenks 1858). A comparison of the lyrics makes the connection obvious:
1. John Brown’s body lies a-mouldering in the grave (x3) His soul’s marching on.
Chorus: Glory, hally hallelujah (x3) His soul’s marching on.
2. He’s gone to be a soldier in the army of the Lord (x3) His soul’s marching on.
3. John Brown’s knapsack is strapped upon his back (x3) His soul’s marching on.
4. His pet lambs [and angels] will meet him on his way (x3) They go marching on.
5. They will hang Jeff Davis to a [sour apple] tree (x3) As they march along.
6. Now, three [rousing] cheers for the Union (x3) As we are marching on.
[the later-added bracketed words make the song scan better]
1. When this poor body lies mouldering in the tomb (x3) My soul’s safe at home.
Chorus: Oh! brother will you meet me (x3) My soul’s marching home.
2. Oh! sister will you meet me (x3) My soul’s marching home.
3. Oh! leader will you meet me (x3) My soul’s marching home.
4. Oh! mourner will you meet me (x3) My soul’s marching home.
5. Oh! brother will you meet me (x3) On Canaan’s happy shore.
6. On Jordan’s stormy bank I stand etc.
To be sure, “When this poor body” is similar enough to “Say, brothers” that it is probable that they share a common origin. As to what that origin might be, Stauffer points to a hymn in Stith Mead’s A General Selection of the Newest and Most Admired Hymns and Spiritual Sings Now in Use (Richmond, Va.: Seaton Grantland 1807). Under the heading (2) “Grace reviving in the soul” is a hymn whose first line is “I feel the work reviving.” Although that doesn’t suggest any connection, the third verse does. It starts out “O brothers will you meet me.” Since the rhyme scheme is also the same, there is little doubt that “I feel the work reviving” is the common ancestor of all the songs we’ve mentioned so far:
DATE FIRST LINE
1807 I feel the work reviving
1858 When this poor body lies mouldering in the tomb Say, brothers, will you meet us?
April 1861 John Brown’s body lies a-mouldering in the grave
Nov. 1861 Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord
Stauffer claims that “I feel the work reviving” has black origins, since the question/ response format is similar to black spirituals. However, he ignores the possibility that it may be the other way around: that the whites who wrote the hymn also invented the Q&A style, which was then adapted by the slaves for their spirituals. The latter is certainly more plausible than Stauffer’s assumption that white Americans in 1807 would have copied a singing style from their black slaves.
As for “Say, brothers,” I thought this was an obscure hymn before I started my research, but discovered that is not so. On the contrary, the hymn and variants (3) appeared in no fewer than 35 books from 1858 through 1864, including soldier hymnals, north and south. Thus, it would have been known to most Americans during the Civil War.
THE MUSIC
Many credit Charles Dunbar with the earliest publication of the music we use today in his The Union Harp and Revival Chorister (Cincinnati: Queen City Publishing), where the music appeared to “My brother will you meet me” (4). However, despite sources claiming this book was published in 1858, hymnary.org puts the publication date at 1860. By then, the tune we use had already appeared in several publications (5).
Although the tune may well be older than 1858, it would be speculative to say it dates back to Mead’s 1807 book. Apart from that book not containing music, “I feel the work reviving” is an imperfect fit to the tune we use today. The tune used back then may have been similar, but it probably was not identical.
IMPLICATIONS FOR REENACTORS
For the first years after it was written, “The Battle Hymn” had a hoity-toity, New England, abolitionist taint to it. Thus, it was virtually unknown in the South and probably not very popular in the North either.
Much better known to Union soldiers at least would have been “John Brown’s Body” and its variants. Although most Union soldiers were not abolitionists, the music would have been well known (via “Say, brothers”), it was easy to march to, and the soldiers appreciated lyrics like “We’ll hang Jeff. Davis to a sour apple tree.”
But most popular of all was the camp revival hymn “Say, brothers” and variants. It would have been sung in camps north and south by soldiers who had never heard of “John Brown’s Body,” much less Howe’s “Battle Hymn.”
ENDNOTES
(1) The Battle Hymn of the Republic: A Biography of the Song That Marches On (Oxford Univ. Press).
(2) The heading of a hymn was often a description of the hymn’s topic rather than an actual name. Thus, the same hymn might appear under different headings in different hymnals. Consequently, the best way to refer to hymns is by first line.
(3) Variations of the “brother” line refer to brother, brothers, or brethren; ask the audience to meet me or us; and have “brother” preceded by Say, Oh, Oh my, Come my and Tell me.
(4) I can’t confirm this, as The Union Harp has not been placed on line.
(5) The December, 1858 issue of Our Monthly Casket (Lee Avenue Sunday School, Boston) and Devotional Melodies (2d ed. A.S. Jenks 1859), both in connection with “Say, brothers.” A variant beginning “Come my brethren” was published to different music in Sacred Melodies for Social Worship (1859).
-By John A. Braden