Rooting the Civil War in Song: 3 Union Anthems

In this installment of “The Art of Liberty,” we learn that George Frederick Root composed patriotic songs during the Civil War.

Songs by George Frederick Root inspired the Union army, including the 6th regiment of the Massachusetts Militia as it passed through New Jersey in 1861. MPI/Getty Images

The Civil War inspired a wealth of songs. It arguably produced more patriotic pomp and circumstance than any other American military conflict because both sides considered themselves American. The man most responsible for penning these rousing tunes was American composer George Frederick Root.

The Union Army of the Potomac marching through Washington in 1865. MPI/Getty Images

Although his musical output was vast, Root’s greatest historical contribution was writing three of the most significant Union anthems of the war: “The First Gun Is Fired,” “The Battle Cry of Freedom,” and “Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!”

‘The First Gun Is Fired’

The title signals the beginning of a conflict, and, indeed, this was the first song written about the Civil War. The full title is “The First Gun Is Fired, May God Protect the Right.” Root wrote it in response to the 1861 attack on Fort Sumter, South Carolina, early in Abraham Lincoln’s presidency. The attack marked the start of the war between the Northern and Southern states over slavery, a conflict that had been brewing for decades.

“Attack Against Fort Sumter,” 1861, by Currier & Ives. Public Domain

Although he often paired his compositions with others’ lyrics, Root wrote both the words and music for this song. It was published on April 15, 1861, by Root & Cady, the Chicago music publishing house where Root had become a partner the year before. Although his surname was in the company name, the original Root was his brother, E.T. Root.

The cover to the earliest sheet music for "The First Gun Is Fired," written by George Frederick Root in 1861 and originally published by Root & Cady. Public Domain

This song achieved little commercial success, but it helped launch a wave of Civil War songs and laid the groundwork for the firm’s reputation as a leading wartime publisher. Root wrote more than 30 songs about the war. The lyrics reflect a solemn, religious theme of divine support for the Union cause, which characterized many of Root’s Civil War compositions:

The first gun is fired! May God protect the right! Let the freeborn sons of the North arise In power’s avenging might; Shall the glorious Union our fathers made, By ruthless hands be sunder'd, And we of freedom sacred rights By trait‘rous foes be plunder’d?

CHORUS Arise! arise! arise! And gird ye for the fight, And let our watchword ever be, ‘May God protect the right!’

‘The Battle Cry of Freedom’

“The Battle Cry of Freedom” was written in 1862, with both words and music by Root. It’s sometimes called “Rally ‘Round the Flag” after its most memorable refrain. Although “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” is now most commonly associated with the Union Army, “The Battle Cry of Freedom” united Northern troops and civilians alike in the war’s early days.

So great was the song’s popularity that “the publishers had fourteen presses at work … and were even then unable to fill the orders, which crowded in from every direction,” according to Root’s obituary in The New York Times.

Cover of sheet music for "Battle Cry of Freedom," words and music by George F. Root, and published in Chicago by Root & Cady, 1862. Public Domain

The song was immensely popular because it balanced Unionism—preserving the nation—with abolitionism, the fight against slavery. The most overt reference to abolitionism comes in a later verse, with the line, “And although he may be poor, he shall never be a slave.” Root blended patriotism, religious fervor, and sentiment to unify people:

Yes we'll rally round the flag, boys, We'll rally once again, Shouting the battle-cry of freedom; We will rally from the hill-side, We will gather from the plain, Shouting the battle-cry of freedom!

CHORUS The Union forever! Hurrah, boys, hurrah! Down with the Traitors, up with the Stars; While we rally round the flag, boys, Rally once again, Shouting the battle-cry of freedom!

This song was popular enough to be quoted by other prominent American composers. Louis Moreau Gottschalk even suggested that it should become the national anthem.

The Lincoln-Johnson ticket in the 1864 election used it as a campaign song, with slightly altered lyrics. Later presidential campaigns followed suit.

Review of the Garibaldi Guard by President Abraham Lincoln, circa 1880 by Frank Vizetelly. Public Domain

Ironically, the tune was so popular that it was adapted into a Confederate fighting song by composer H.L. Schreiner and lyricist W.H. Barnes. They replaced “The Union forever! Hurrah, boys, hurrah!” with “Our Dixie forever! She’s never at a loss!”

‘Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!’

“Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!” was composed and published in 1864, as the never-ending days of the Civil War were disheartening the nation. Also called “The Prisoner’s Hope,” it was intended to encourage imprisoned Union soldiers. With words and music by Root, this song takes the form of a letter from a soldier to his mother, in which he expresses his homesickness before rallying his comrades.

The song was so inspiring that, according to Root’s obituary, choruses of the refrain spread throughout troops as they marched, “and soon the whole line would be shouting”:

In the prison cell I sit, thinking, Mother, dear, of you, And our bright and happy home so far away, And the tears they fill my eyes ’spite of all that I can do, Tho' I try to cheer my comrades and be gay.

CHORUS Tramp! Tramp! Tramp! The boys are marching, Cheer up, comrades, they will come, And beneath the starry flag we shall breathe the air again, Of the free land in our own beloved home.

This tune’s themes of hoping for release and yearning for home were so poignant and universal that, again, Confederate soldiers created their own version, focusing on Gen. Robert E. Lee’s invasion of Pennsylvania. In later years, the popular melody was reused as a religious hymn and in political songs around the world.

Cover of sheet music for "Tramp Tramp Tramp." Public Domain

The Voice of the Civil War

Root had one of the most successful songwriting careers of the Civil War era. He received praise from Abraham Lincoln for his patriotic compositions. In his 1879 feature in Potter’s American Monthly, George Birdseye called him “one of the legitimate successors to the ‘Song Writer of America’ [Stephen Foster], in the hearts of the people.”

These three songs helped unite the nation during its darkest days. That the Confederacy adapted Root’s popular tunes proves their universal appeal.

Beneath these stirring compositions was a humble, generous man of faith who loved his country and his fellow man. In SongAmerica.net, he’s quoted as saying: “I never dreamed of eminence as a writer of music. ... I am simply one who ... makes music for the people, having always a particular need in view.”

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