THE BATTLE-CRY OF FREEDOM
The fiddle began to play a marching tune, and Pa's clear voice was singing like a deep-toned
bell.... -- Little House on the Prairie,
Chapter 26, "Going Out"
Then he took his fiddle out of its box. He played for a long time in the twilight, while Laura and
Mary sat close to him and Ma rocked Carrie near
by. He played "Dixie Land," and "We'll Rally Round
the Flag, Boys!" -- On the Banks of Plum
Creek, Chapter 26, "Grasshopper Eggs"
What Pa calls "We'll Rally Round the Flag, Boys!" was actually what Union troops knew as "The Battle-Cry of Freedom," written by George Frederick Root in 1862. Root realized that there was need of a song that soldiers could "carry with them" into battle, and no sooner had he finished the song than he was asked to compose a song to sing at a war meeting in Chicago. "The Battle-Cry of Freedom" spread to both Union and Confererate troops, the Southern men needing to change only a few words to suit their cause. Root himself wrote two sets of verses for his tune: one for use as a civilian rallying song and another as a battle song. Since Laura Ingalls Wilder only quotes the chorus, it's impossible to know which version Pa sang.
George Frederick Root (1820-1895) was born in Massachusetts and died in Maine. By the time he was 13, he boasted that he could play as many instruments as his age. As a young adult, he played organ in church and taught music at an institute for young ladies. In 1851, he began composing. "The Battle-Cry of Freedom" is probably his most famous piece. In 1859, he began work at Root & Cady, his brother's publishing company in Chicago.
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THE BATTLE-CRY OF FREEDOM
1. Yes, we'll rally round the flag, boys, we'll rally once again, Shouting the battle cry of Freedom. And we'll rally from the hillside, we'll gather from the plain, Shouting the battle cry of Freedom.
[chorus] The Union forever, hurrah, boys, hurrah! Down with the traitor, up with the Star, While we rally round the flag, boys, rally once again, Shouting the battle cry of Freedom.
2. We are springing to the call, three hundred thousand more, Shouting the battle cry of Freedom, And we'll fill the vacant ranks of our brothers gone before, Shouting the battle cry of Freedom.
3. We will welcome to our numbers the loyal true and brave, Shouting the battle cry of Freedom. And altho' he may be poor he shall never be a slave, Shouting the battle cry of Freedom.
4. So we're singing to the call from the East and from the West, Shouting the battle cry of Freedom, And we'll hurl the rebel crew from the land we love the best, Shouting the battle cry of Freedom. |
Use the navigation bar above to listen to "The Battle-Cry of Freedom" - midi sequence by Benjamin Robert Tubb. To hear more Civil War songs, see: http://www.pdmusic.org/civilwar.html. If you do not see the midi player above, click HERE to listen.
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