The "Battle Cry of Freedom", also known as "Rally 'Round the Flag", is a song written in 1862 by American composer

George Frederick Root George Frederick Root (August 30, 1820August 6, 1895) was a romantic American composer, who found particular fame during the American Civil War, with songs such as " Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!" and " The Battle Cry of Freedom". He is regarded as the ...

(1820–1895) during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. A patriotic song advocating the causes of Unionism and

abolitionism Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. ...

, it became so popular that composer H. L. Schreiner and lyricist W. H. Barnes adapted it for the Confederacy. A modified Union version was used as the campaign song for the

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

Johnson Johnson may refer to: People and fictional characters *Johnson (surname), a common surname in English * Johnson (given name), a list of people * List of people with surname Johnson, including fictional characters *Johnson (composer) (1953–2011) ...

ticket in the 1864 presidential election, as well as in elections after the war, such as for

Garfield ''Garfield'' is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis (cartoonist), Jim Davis. Originally published locally as ''Jon'' in 1976 (later changed to ''Garfield'' in 1977), then in nationwide Print syndication, syndication from 1978, it chro ...

in the 1880 U.S. presidential election. The song was so popular that the music publisher had 14 printing presses going at one time and still could not keep up with demand. It is estimated that over 700,000 copies of this song were put in circulation.

Louis Moreau Gottschalk Louis Moreau Gottschalk (May 8, 1829 – December 18, 1869) was an American composer, pianist, and virtuoso performer of his own romantic piano works. He spent most of his working career outside the United States. Life and career Gottschalk ...

thought so highly of the song that in his diary he confided that he thought "it should be our national anthem" and used it as the basis for his 1863 concert paraphrase for solo piano "Le Cri de délivrance," opus 55, and dedicated it to Root, who was a personal friend.

Charles Ives Charles Edward Ives (; October 20, 1874May 19, 1954) was an American modernist composer, actuary and businessman. Ives was among the earliest renowned American composers to achieve recognition on a global scale. His music was largely ignored d ...

quoted the song in several compositions, including his own patriotic song, "They Are There". % Source: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/21566/21566-h/images/battlecry.pdf \new Score

History

"Battle Cry of Freedom" proved popular among Union soldiers during the American Civil War. According to Henry Stone, a Union war veteran recalling in the late 1880s, the song helped the morale of Union soldiers: According to historian Christian L. McWhirter, the song's success and popularity among the Union was due to its even-handed references to both abolitionism and unionism. Thus, both groups of Unionists, those opposed to slavery and secession, could utilize the song without reservation:

Lyrics (Union version)

Extended lyrics (Union version)

As published in Hoge, ''The Boys in Blue'' (1867) pp. 477–479.Hoge, ''The Boys in Blue'', p. 477–479

Lyrics (Confederate version)

Iiif-public music muscivilwar-200002539 001-full-pct 100

Chorus (1864 election campaign)

In popular culture

References

Notes

Bibliography

*Collins, Ace. ''Songs Sung, Red, White, and Blue: The Stories Behind America's Best-Loved Patriotic Songs''. HarperResource, 2003. *

Irwin Silber Irwin Silber (October 17, 1925 – September 8, 2010) was an American Communism, Communist, Editing, editor, publisher, and activism, political activist. He edited the folk music magazine ''Sing Out!'' and was active in far-left politics througho ...

,
Songs of the Civil War
'', Dover, 1995. * *

External links

Battle Cry of Freedom
at

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

Battle Cry of Freedom
a
Civil War SongsSheet music
for "Battle Cry of Freedom", from

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital li ...

Sheet music
for the Confederate version of "Battle Cry of Freedom", from the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

MIDI
for "Battle Cry of Freedom", from Project Gutenberg
"Battle Cry of Freedom"
(Union version), Walter Van Brunt (Edison Blue Amberol 2904, 1916)—
Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project
'. *"Battle Cry of Freedom
ConfederateUnion
(music video), Tom Roush. {{Authority control 1862 songs American patriotic songs Battle cries Songs about freedom Songs of the American Civil War Songs written by George Frederick Root Presidential campaign songs