The Washington herald., 1908-01-13

TON HERALD, MONDAY, JAN
ing before those British guns. Key wrote
the lines which will live forever in the
history of the nation.
No one song Of the nation has perhaps
reached greater popularity than has
The Star-spangled Banner" When Fort
Sumter at the mouth Of Charleston HaF-
bor fell at last. at the end of the war,
and the man who had commanded 1t
when 1t was first taken by the forces of
the Confederacy was called upon again
to hoist the banner of the Union over it's
SCARED walls, THE Star Spa ngled Ban
ner" pealed out in triumph.
When. shortly after the battle ship
Maine was blown up in Havana Har-
b0r the orchestra in Days fheateT,
New York. switching from popular air
of the day, swung into THE Star
Spangled Banner" men ard women rose
to their feet. Cheers that spoke of the
souls Of those present roared through the
house for minutes, and never, 1t has been
said, was such "a scene witnessed In days
Of peace
Or. Samuel f. Smith. a Classmate at
Harvard Of Or Oliver Wendell Holmes.
was the writer of My Country. 'Tis of
Thee - Speaking of that great song,
which has grown 10 be the nations air
since February. 1892. when tt was writ
ten. DR.. Holmes said that, If the word
Ny had not been used instead of Our,
the song would not have attained its
great popularity. That one word. he
said, brings the personal feeling of own
ershp q the country which is necessary
in a national song.
DR. Edward Everett Hale, it is said, on
July 4. 1892. saw about son school children
entering a church in Boston. He, "a boy
himself, followed and there those 800
children sang publicly. for the first time
the song which has since grown to be the
song OF a0,OOO,oOo Of people.
The Song of america"
America Country. 'Tis os
Thee" as it is popularity calied-is
sung 70 the tune Of God Save the King,
which Is supposed to have been the work
of Henry Carey, an Englishman. God
Save the King" is said TO have been
written about 17l5. In 1895 the Pope be-
ing greatly impressed with America.
requested from Dr. Smith a copy thereof.
written In the latters own handwriting.
This copy was sent. and is in the Vatican
library.
Columbia, the Gem of the ocean" has
been asserted 10 be the work Of three
different men. Timothy Dwight, an an
cestor of the famous president Of Yale
University: David T. Shaw. and Thomas
Beckett are all asserted 10 have been
its author Authorities incline toward
Thomas a Beckett
John Browns Body is also of uncer-
tain parentage. Like T0psy, il seems
TO have lust growed. The music, il is
said. was first used by the Twelfth Mas
sachusetts Infantry. whose colonel was
Fletcher Webster. son OF Daniel Web
steT, in 1851. II is known that on July
is. 1851, more than 10)1 members of this
regiment sang John Browns Body pub
liCly Ia Boston.
Julia Ward Howe. who. James Russell
Lowell once said, was not poet of much
account, wrote "The Battle Hymn Of the
Republic the Rrandest of all the ma
tonal airs. "The Battle Hymn Of the
Republic has been sung by men of all
lands and castles. Its words seem to be
token. it Is said the universally Of mans
desire for freedom more than any other
poem of its kind
II was in December 1851. that Julia
Ward Howe. after witnessing scenes Of
army life on the Union side-hearing the
soldiers sing John Browns Body" de-
cided 10 write a song herself. The Bat
tie Hymn Of the Republic the Conse-
quence Of that resolve. was published in
the Atlantic Monthly for February. 1S62
Miss Howe, Il is said. was given S for
the hymn.
StirS the SOuthernerS.
Dixie" which can stir Southern au-
dience into a storm Of handclapping more
quickly. possibly. than can the sight Of
the old stars and Bars" was the work
of famous minstrel. Dan d. Emmett
In 1883 Bryants MinsJrefs were playing
in New York Emmett. as part Of his
contract was liable at any time TO be
called upon for q song He was told one
Saturday night to prepare for "a song for
Mondays performance. Dixie" was the
result, At a fan spectacle in New Or
leans. in 1860. Dixie" was suggested as
the most popular Southern air. It spread
after that day all over the South. and
became the air Of the armies Of the Con-
federacy in a thousand battles. Abraham
Lincoln preferred it to many Northern
tunes Of war days.
Maryland. Ny Maryland" was the
work Of James Ryder Randall It was
written Just after the Northern troops
had marched through Baltimore in April,
1861
The Battle Cry Of Freedom" " with its
inspiring Rally Round the Flag. Boys.
was written by George r. Root IN the
summer of 1851 John s Gibbons wrote
we Are Coming. Father Abraham, " and
Marching Through Georgia was the
work of Henry c. Work
No other nation. it has been said. pos
sesses the wealth Of great battle songs
which the United States possesses.
France, with her 'Marsellaise. " written by
Rouget de Lisle, IN April, 1892. and Ger
many, with the Watch on the Rhine,
written by Max Schneckenburger in 1910.
do not compare with the songs of this
nation. In the "MarseIlaise" France
found an incitement to a thousand crimes
of violence. The effect Of that most
stirring song has been such that it is
forbidden to be sung in public in Paris.
In The Battle Hymn Of the Republic,
My Country 'Tis OF Thee" Dixie,
and the others named the young nation
Of the United States possesses songs
which thrill the heart of soldiers and
make them ready for the nations Of the
earth, whether they be fighting in Amer
lea or the Philippines.
FAREWELL TO LEADERS.
Adiutaut and Mrs oufrL CHESTS of