Blogging Through the Alphabet: H is for Howe

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"Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword,
His truth is marching on."

One of the most memorable songs to come from the American Civil War time period, The Battle Hymn of the Republic, still inspires us today as it is sung in churches and schools. What started off as a favorite marching song of the Union Army would transform into a staple amongst patriotic music when Julia Ward Howe changed the lyrics.

Julia Ward Howe (b. May 27, 1819 – d. October 17, 1910) was a descendant of Roger Williams (founder of the Rhode Island colony). Her mother died when she was only five years old, and the care of Julia and her siblings was left to her father, Samuel Ward, a successful banker. When Julia's father died when she was 20 years old, she and two of her sisters moved to her brother Sam's house. Between her aunt, her own thirst for knowledge, and her brother's household, she would become very well-educated and meet many famous men and women of the world, including Charles Dickens, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

In 1843, while touring the New England Institute for the Blind, she met Dr. Samuel Howe (who was twenty years her senior). He was a physician of international repute for his work with the blind and the deaf. And Dr. Howe was one of the secret six who helped finance John Brown's insurrection at Harper's Ferry. They had a very tumultuous marriage. She enjoyed writing and socializing while he preferred quiet and solitude.

New Lyrics 

While in Washington D.C., Julia was touring Union Army Camps with her husband and Reverend James Freeman Clarke and heard the men singing John's Brown's Body. This was a perfect song for the marching feet of the soldiers. The melody was from an old Methodist camp meeting song, but the words were added during the American Civil War. Oddly enough, the song's origins were not about the abolitionist John Brown, but about a sergeant in the 2nd Battalion of the Boston Light Infantry of the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia. However, it would gain popularity amongst all the Union camps and be connected to the John Brown and not the sergeant with the same name.

When hearing the song, Reverend Clarke suggested Julia write new lyrics to the tune to replace those of John Brown's Body. After the tours of the Union Army camps, she retired and went to bed as usual. She woke before dawn the next day with the words forming. By sunrise, she had finished six stanzas. The first draft is dated November 1861 and over the course of several weeks, she edited her lyrics. 

In February of 1862, Julia Ward Howe's work was published in The Atlantic Monthly. She was paid five dollars and The Battle Hymn of the Republic appeared on the first page. Her song would become an uplifting patriotic anthem during the American Civil War and continue with that fame to today. 

After the American Civil War, Julia Ward Howe would establish and lead several different women's organizations, champion for votes for women, and become a peace advocate. In 1908, Julia was the first woman elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She would also be given an honorary degree from Smith College. 

From working with the U.S. Sanitary Commission during the American Civil War to her many writings, Julia Ward Howe has many accomplishments, but perhaps she is best known today as the author of The Battle Hymn of the Republic or even as being instrumental in the celebration of the first Mother's Day (even if it has changed dramatically from her proclamation for a day of peace). I think it will be interesting to see how history changes regarding Howe as – during my research of this article – I found contradictory information and reflections of today's standards being imposed upon her biography.