James Ryder Randall (January 1, 1839 – January 15, 1908) was an American

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

. He is best remembered as the author of "

Maryland, My Maryland "Maryland, My Maryland" was the state song of the U.S. state of Maryland from 1939 until 2021. The song is set to the melody of "Lauriger Horatius" — the same tune "O Tannenbaum" was taken from. The lyrics are from a nine-stanza poem written by ...

Biography

Randall was born on January 1, 1839 in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. He was named after Father James A. Ryder S.J., the 20th President of Georgetown University. He is most remembered for writing the poem "

," which is also the reason for his being called the "Poet Laureate of the Lost Cause". It became a war hymn of the Confederacy after the poem's words were set to the tune "Lauriger Horatius" (the tune of ''

O Tannenbaum "" (; "O fir tree", English: O Christmas Tree) is a German Christmas song. Based on a traditional folk song which was unrelated to Christmas, it became associated with the traditional Christmas tree. History The modern lyrics were written in 1824 ...

'') during the Civil War by Jennie Cary, a member of a prominent Maryland and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

family. It later became the state song of Maryland. Randall wrote the poem after learning that his friend Francis X. Ward, of

Randallstown, Maryland Randallstown is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It is named after Christopher and Thomas Randall, two 18th-century tavern-keepers. At that time, Randallstown was a tollgate cro ...

, was killed by the 6th Massachusetts Militia in the Baltimore Riot of April 19, 1861. The work was first published a week later on April 26, in the

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

newspaper ''The Sunday Delta''. After abandoning his studies at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

, he traveled to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

and the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

. Upon his return to the United States he taught English literature at Poydras College in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana. It was during this time that he penned "Maryland, My Maryland". Tuberculosis prevented him from enlisting in the Confederate Army. However, he was able to serve with the Confederate States Navy in Wilmington, North Carolina. Though a Marylander by birth, he wrote the poem "Maryland, My Maryland" while living in

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Georgi ...

. He considered himself a Georgian by adoption. After the Civil War, Randall became a newspaper editor and a correspondent in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, for ''

The Augusta Chronicle ''The Augusta Chronicle'' is the daily newspaper of Augusta, Georgia, and is one of the oldest newspapers in the United States still in publication. The paper is known for its coverage of the Masters Tournament, which is played in Augusta. The ''C ...

''. He continued to write poems, although none achieved the popularity of "Maryland, My Maryland". His later poems were deeply religious in nature. He died on January 15, 1908 in

, and is buried there in Magnolia Cemetery. Augusta honors him on the Monument to Poets of Georgia along with Fr.

Abram Ryan Abram Joseph Ryan (February 5, 1838 – April 22, 1886) was an American poet, Catholic priest, Catholic newspaper editor, orator, and former Vincentian. An active proponent of the Confederate States of America, he has been called the "Poet-Priest ...

, Sydney Lanier, and

Paul Hamilton Hayne Paul Hamilton Hayne (January 1, 1830 – July 6, 1886) was a nineteenth-century Southern American poet, critic, and editor. Biography Paul Hamilton Hayne was born in Charleston, South Carolina on January 1, 1830. After losing his father as a yo ...

, all of whom saw Confederate service. The Randall Memorial Committee of Chapter "A" United Daughters of the Confederacy Augusta, Georgia, dedicated a statue to him there in 1936. James Ryder Randall Elementary School in Clinton, Maryland, bears his name. Edward Bailey Eaton referred to him as "Poet of the Confederacy".

References

External links

Biography
at

Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...

* *Sheet music fo
"There's life in the old land yet"
Augusta, GA: Blackmar & Bro, from th
Confederate Imprints Sheet Music Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Randall, James Ryder 1839 births 1908 deaths 19th-century American male writers 19th-century American poets American male journalists American male poets Confederate States Navy officers People of Maryland in the American Civil War Philodemic Society members Poets of the Confederacy