Julia Ward Howe was visiting in Washington, D.C., in December 1861. Signs of war were everywhere. The railroads were guarded with soldiers, and the streets were crowded with men in uniform singing war songs, among them the stirring tune, “John Brown’s Body.”
After hearing the song, Mrs. Howe found herself mentally composing new words for the tune–words that would life the minds and hearts of the soldiers to God, words that would remind them that God’s truth is ever “marching on.” Her song turned out to be our great “Battle Hymn of the Republic.”
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