During the tumultuous autumn of 1861, amidst the fervor of the American Civil War, poet Julia Ward Howe found herself in Washington D.C. A seemingly ordinary experience – attending a public parade of Union troops – unexpectedly led her to the heart of a song that would resonate throughout the nation: “John Brown’s Body.” Returning to Willard’s Hotel, her carriage was momentarily halted by marching regiments, their voices rising in chorus with popular war songs of the time. Among them, a tune with particularly striking lyrics caught her ear: “John Brown’s body lies-a-mouldering in the ground…. His soul is marching on.”
Howe, like many at the time, naturally associated “John Brown” with the infamous abolitionist, a figure of intense controversy and passion. However, the true origin of this song was far more prosaic, rooted in the everyday life of a young Scottish soldier serving in the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, who, coincidentally, shared the same name: John Brown.
This Scottish John Brown was acutely aware of the abolitionist John Brown. The shared name became a source of lighthearted jest among his fellow soldiers. As they marched, they would rhythmically chant, in a folk-song style, the melody that would later captivate Julia Ward Howe. Lines like “His Soul’s Marching On” were initially meant as playful ribbing directed at the Scotsman. Yet, as this catchy tune spread to different military units, it transcended its personal origins and became simply known as a song about “John Brown,” the figure associated with the raid on Harpers Ferry. New verses were constantly improvised and added, reflecting the evolving legend:
Old John Brown’s body is a-mouldering in the dust,
Old John Brown’s rifleís red with blood-spots turned to rust,
Old John Brown’s pike has made its last, unflinching thrust,
His soul is marching on!
The morning after witnessing this impromptu performance, Julia Ward Howe, deeply moved by the melody and its underlying sentiment, penned her own verses to the same tune. These words, imbued with a more elevated and solemn tone, were soon published in the prestigious “Atlantic Monthly” under the now iconic title, “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” This transformation cemented the tune’s place in American musical history, although its roots remained in the more humble, almost accidental, origins of “John Brown’s Body.”
Tragically, John Brown the Scotsman, the unwitting namesake of this burgeoning anthem, would not live to witness its widespread impact. He perished early in the war, drowning in the Shenandoah River at Front Royal, Virginia. His story, intertwined with the song that began as a joke and evolved into a powerful expression of wartime sentiment, serves as a poignant footnote to the history of “John Brown’s Body.”
To further illustrate the song’s evolution and variations, here are two more versions of “John Brown’s Body” that circulated during the Civil War era:
Version 1:
Old John Brown’s body lies a-mouldering in the grave,
While weep the sons of bondage whom he ventured all to save;
But though he lost his life in struggling for the slave,
His truth is marching on.Chorus: Glory, Glory, Hallelujah! His truth is marching on!
John Brown was a hero, undaunted, true and brave;
Kansas knew his valor when he fought her rights to save;
And now though the grass grows green above his grave,
His truth is marching on. ChorusHe captured Harpers Ferry with his nineteen men so few,
And he frightened “Old Virginny” till she trembled through and through,
They hung him for a traitor, themselves a traitor crew,
But his truth is marching on. ChorusJohn Brown was John the Baptist for the Christ we are to see,
Christ who of the bondsman shall the Liberator be;
And soon throughout the sunny South the slaves shall all be free.
For his truth is marching on. ChorusThe conflict that he heralded, he looks from heaven to view,
On the army of the Union with its flag, red, white, and blue,
And heaven shall ring with anthems o’er the deeds they mean to do,
For his truth is marching on. ChorusOh, soldiers of freedom, then strike while strike you may
The deathblow of oppression in a better time and way;
For the dawn of old John Brown was brightened into day,
And his truth is marching on. Chorus
Version 2:
John Brown’s body lies a-mouldering in the grave,
John Brown’s body lies a-mouldering in the grave,
John Brown’s body lies a-mouldering in the grave,
But his soul goes marching on.Chorus: Glory, Glory, Hallelujah!
Glory, Glory, Hallelujah!
Glory, Glory, Hallelujah!
His soul goes marching on.He’s gone to be a soldier in the Army of the Lord
He’s gone to be a soldier in the Army of the Lord
He’s gone to be a soldier in the Army of the Lord
His soul goes marching on. ChorusJohn Brown’s knapsack is strapped upon his back
John Brown’s knapsack is strapped upon his back
John Brown’s knapsack is strapped upon his back
His soul goes marching on. ChorusJohn Brown died that the slaves might be free
John Brown died that the slaves might be free
John Brown died that the slaves might be free
But his soul goes marching on. ChorusThe stars above in Heaven now are looking kindly down
The stars above in Heaven now are looking kindly down
The stars above in Heaven now are looking kindly down
On the grave of old John Brown. Chorus
Sources:
- “Story of John Brown’s Song,” an article written by Edwin Cotter, published in Lake Placid News.
- “John Brown, The Thundering Voice of Jehovah,” by Stan Cohen
- “John Brown’s Body” by Benet; Quoted in “His Soul Goes Marching On” by Paul Finkelman
