"We Are Coming, Father Abra'am", is a poem written by James S. Gibbons, set to music by eight different composers, including

Stephen Foster Stephen Collins Foster (July 4, 1826January 13, 1864), known also as "the father of American music", was an American composer known primarily for his parlour and minstrel music during the Romantic period. He wrote more than 200 songs, inc ...

William Cullen Bryant William Cullen Bryant (November 3, 1794 – June 12, 1878) was an American romantic poet, journalist, and long-time editor of the ''New York Evening Post''. Born in Massachusetts, he started his career as a lawyer but showed an interest in poetry ...

published one version (with music by Luther Orlando Emerson (1820–1915). Bryant's newspaper originally published the poem and, because it was originally published anonymously, many assumed it was his, and it was widely republished, so Bryant issued a statement denying his authorship. The poem and music came in response to a call by

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

on July 1, 1862 for volunteers to fight for the U.S. in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. It was published in the New York Evening Post soon after, on July 16, 1862.

Lyrics

Song of the Conscripts

A parody of the song, titled ''Song of the Conscripts'', expressed resentment against the 1863 Enrollment Act and particularly its provision for escaping conscription by paying a $300 commutation fee, which only the rich could afford. One verse ran: These lyrics were printed in the ''New York

Copperhead Copperhead may refer to: Snakes * ''Agkistrodon contortrix'', or copperhead, a venomous pit viper species found in parts of North America * '' Austrelaps'', or Australian copperhead, a genus of venomous elapids found in southern Australia and Ta ...

'', and copies were distributed at the

New York City draft riots The New York City draft riots (July 13–16, 1863), sometimes referred to as the Manhattan draft riots and known at the time as Draft Week, were violent disturbances in Lower Manhattan, widely regarded as the culmination of white working-cla ...

References

External links

"We Are Coming, Father Abra'am"
at ''Project Gutenberg'' * {{Internet Archive short film, id=gov.dod.dimoc.30155, name=A NATION SINGS (1963) American poems Songs of the American Civil War 1860s songs Songs based on poems