William Weston Patton (October 19, 1821 – October 21, 1889), was an

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

, academic administrator, and scholar. He served as the fifth president of

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...

, and one of the contributors to the words of "

John Brown's Body "John Brown's Body" (originally known as "John Brown's Song") is a United States marching song about the abolitionist John Brown. The song was popular in the Union during the American Civil War. The tune arose out of the folk hymn tradition o ...

". He was the son of Rev. William Patton and the grandson of Anglo-Irish Congregationalist immigrant and Revolutionary War soldier Major Robert Patton.

Abolitionism

Patton took an earnest part in the

anti-slavery movement Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

, and was chairman of the committee that presented to

President 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 throu ...

, September 13, 1862, the memorial from Chicago asking him to issue a proclamation of emancipation. In 1887, Patton read a paper before the Maryland Historical Society entitled "President Lincoln and the Chicago Memorial on Emancipation" recalling the actual dialogue with President Lincoln at that meeting in 1862. The original copy of that paper is held in the Mugar Memorial Library at Boston University. He was vice-president of the Northwestern sanitary commission during 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 ...

, and as such repeatedly visited the eastern and western armies, publishing several pamphlet, reports. In 1886, he went, on behalf of the

freedmen A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), emancipation (granted freedom a ...

, to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

, where, and in

the Orient The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of '' Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, th ...

, he remained nearly a year.

''John Brown's Body''

In October 1861 Patton wrote new lyrics to the battle song ''

'', the first with complete verses and a consistent meter. These were published in the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'' on December 16, 1861. Even more than the previous words the new words glorify the violent anti-slavery acts of the abolitionist John Brown and his followers. The third verse directly refers to the attack on the armory in

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia. It is located in the lower Shenandoah Valley. The population was 285 at the 2020 census. Situated at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, where the U.S. st ...

. Verse four compares John Brown to

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

He captured Harper’s Ferry, with his nineteen men so few, And frightened "Old Virginny" till she trembled thru and thru; They hung him for a traitor, themselves the traitor crew, But his soul is marching on. John Brown was John the Baptist of the Christ we are to see, Christ who of the bondmen shall the Liberator be, And soon thruout the Sunny South the slaves shall all be free, For his soul is marching on.

These themes were further refined two months later by

Julia Ward Howe Julia Ward Howe (; May 27, 1819 – October 17, 1910) was an American author and poet, known for writing the " Battle Hymn of the Republic" and the original 1870 pacifist Mother's Day Proclamation. She was also an advocate for abolitionism ...

; her version came to be known as ''

The Battle Hymn of the Republic The "Battle Hymn of the Republic", also known as "Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory" or "Glory, Glory Hallelujah" outside of the United States, is a popular American patriotic song written by the abolitionist writer Julia Ward Howe. Howe wrote her l ...

''. Where Patton only wrote ''"of the Christ we are to see"'', Howe testified that ''her eyes'' had already ''"seen the glory of the coming of the Lord"''.

Academic career

Patton graduated from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

in 1839 and Union Theological Seminary in 1842. After taking charge of a Congregational church in Boston, Massachusetts for three years, he became a pastor of one in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1846, and in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, in 1857. He received the degree of D.D. from

DePauw University DePauw University is a private liberal arts university in Greencastle, Indiana. It has an enrollment of 1,972 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, in 1864, and that of

LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

from

in 1882. From 1867-72, he was editor of ''

The Advance ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' in that city, and during 1874 he was lecturer on modern skepticism at Oberlin College (Ohio) and Chicago theological seminaries. From 1877-89 he was president of

(Washington, D.C.), filling the chair of natural theology and evidences of Christianity in its theological department.

Publications

Patton is the author of ''The Young Man'' (Hartford, 1847; republished as ''The Young Man's Friend'', Auburn, New York, 1850); ''Conscience and Law'' (New York, 1850); ''Slavery and Infidelity'' (Cincinnati, 1856); ''Spiritual Victory'' (Boston, 1874); and ''Prayer and Its Remarkable Answers'' (Chicago, 1875).
Publications by William W. Patton
Internet Archive (archive.org). Accessed November 5, 2022.

General references

External links

* ttp://www.huarchivesnet.howard.edu/9908huarnet/patton1.htm Inaugural Address of The Rev. William Weston Patton as President of Howard University, October 9, 1877.* Patton, William W.
Slavery, the Bible, Infidelity: Pro-slavery Interpretations of the Bible: Productive of Infidelity
' (1846 book on-line) {{DEFAULTSORT:Patton, William Weston Songwriters from New York (state) American abolitionists American Christian theologians New York University alumni Union Theological Seminary (New York City) alumni DePauw University alumni Oberlin College faculty Presidents of Howard University 1821 births 1889 deaths United States Sanitary Commission people Activists from New York City Christian abolitionists