"No single influence," says United States Senator George F. Hoar of
Massachusetts, "has had so much to do with shaping the destiny of a
nation--as nothing more surely expresses national character--than what
is known as the national anthem."
There is some difference of opinion as to which of our patriotic hymns
or songs is distinctively the national anthem of America. Senator Hoar
seems to have made up his mind in favor of "The Battle Hymn of the
Republic." Writing of its author, Julia Ward Howe, in 1903, he said:
"We waited eighty years for our American national anthem. At last God
inspired an illustrious and noble woman to utter in undying verse the
thought which we hope is forever to animate the soldier of the
republic:--
"'In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me;
As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,
While God is marching on.'"
Mrs. Julia Ward Howe is as widely known for her learning and literary
and poetic achievements as she is for her work as a philanthropist and
reformer.
She was born in New York City, in a stately mansion near the Bowling
Green, on May 27, 1819. From her birth she was fortunate in possessing
the advantages that wealth and high social position bestow. Her father,
Samuel Ward, the descendant of an old colonial family, was a member of
a leading banking firm of New York. Her mother, Julia Cutter Ward, was
a most charming and accomplished woman. She died very young, however,
while her little daughter Julia was still a child. Mr. Ward was a man
of advanced ideas, and was determined that his daughters should have,
as far as possible, the same educational advantages as his sons.
Of course, in those early days there were no separate colleges for
women, and they would not be admitted to men's colleges. It was
impossible for Mr. Ward to overcome these difficulties wholly, but he
did the next best thing he could for his girls. He engaged as their
tutor the learned Dr. Joseph Green Cogswell, and instructed him to put
them through the full curriculum of Harvard College.
On her entrance into society the "little Miss Ward," as Julia had been
called from her childhood, at once became a leader of the cultured and
fashionable circle in which she moved. In her father's home she met the
most distinguished American men of letters of that time. The liberal
education which she had received made the young girl feel perfectly at
her ease in such society. In addition to other accomplishments, she was
mistress of several ancient and modern languages, and a musical amateur
of great promise.
In 1843 Miss Ward was married to Dr. Samuel G. Howe, director of the
Institute for the Blind in South Boston, Massachusetts. Immediately
after their marriage Dr. and Mrs. Howe went to Europe, where they
traveled for some time. The home which they established in Boston on
their return became a center for the refined and literary society of
Boston and its environment. Mrs. Howe's grace, learning, and
accomplishments made her a charming hostess and fit mistress of such a
home.
Her literary talent was developed at a very early age. One of her
friends has humorously said that "Mrs. Howe wrote leading articles from
her cradle." However this may be, it is undoubtedly true that at
seventeen she contributed valuable articles to a leading New York
magazine. In 1854 she published her first volume of poems, "Passion
Flowers." Other volumes, including collections of her later poems,
books of travel, and a biography of Margaret Fuller, were afterward
published. For more than half a century she has been a constant
contributor to the leading magazines of the country.
Since 1869 Mrs. Howe has been a leader in the movement for woman's
suffrage, and both by lecturing and writing has supported every effort
put forth for the educational and general advancement of her sex.
Although in her eightieth year when the writer conversed with her a few
years ago, Mrs. Howe was then full of youthful enthusiasm, and her
interest in the great movements of the world was as keen as ever. Age
had in no way lessened her intellectual vigor. Surrounded by her
children and grandchildren, and one great-grandchild, she recently
celebrated her eighty-fourth birthday.
The story of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" has been left to the
last, not because it is the least important, but, on the contrary,
because it is one of the most important works of her life. Certain it
is that the "Battle Hymn" will live and thrill the hearts of Americans
centuries after its author has passed on to the other life.
The hymn was written in Washington, in November, 1861, the first year
of our Civil War. Dr. and Mrs. Howe were visiting friends in that city.
During their stay, they went one day with a party to see a review of
Union troops. The review, however, was interrupted by a movement of the
Confederate forces which were besieging the city. On their return, the
carriage in which Mrs. Howe and her friends were seated was surrounded
by soldiers. Stirred by the scene and the occasion, she began to sing
"John Brown," to the delight of the soldiers, who heartily joined in
the refrain.
At the close of the song Mrs. Howe expressed to her friends the strong
desire she felt to write some words which might be sung to this
stirring tune. But she added that she feared she would never be able to
do so.
"That night," says her daughter, Maude Howe Eliot, "she went to sleep
full of thoughts of battle, and awoke before dawn the next morning to
find the desired verses immediately present to her mind. She sprang
from her bed, and in the dim gray light found a pen and paper, whereon
she wrote, scarcely seeing them, the lines of the poem. Returning to
her couch, she was soon asleep, but not until she had said to herself,
'I like this better than anything I have ever written before.'"