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Rowan Rifles Camp # 405
Sons of Confederate Veterans
Sons of Confederate Veterans
Battle Hymn of the Republic
The Battle Hymn was written in 1863 during the War Between the States by Julia Ward
Howe. On the surface it sounds as if it was written by a woman with deeply religious beliefs,
however, this is far from the truth." Julia Howe belonged to the Unitarian church and she did
NOT believe that Jesus was the Son of God. She did not believe in Hell or that Christianity
was the only pathway to God. Julia did believe that man was characteristically good and he
could redeem himself. I'll let Howes' own words speak out on these issues: "Not until the
Civil War did I officially join the Unitarian church and accept the fact that Christ was merely a
great teacher with no higher claim to preeminence in wisdom, goodness and power than many
other great men."
Julia Ward Howe was also a strong supporter of the murderer John Brown. In case you are
not familiar with John Brown, he was the man who took five slave owners in Kansas (1856)
and hacked them to death while making their families watch, proclaiming himself an instrument
of God's will. What did Mrs. Howe think about the murders? It was John Brown the Hero
who appealed to Howe as well as men like Emerson and Thoreau. For them Brown was
above the law; the atrocities at Pattawatomie were glossed over and romanticized.
John Brown is most widely known for his raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859 where the first person
to die at the hands of John Browns' men who had come to free the slaves was Hayward
Shepherd, who was in fact, a Negro already free. For his murdering rampage at Harpers Ferry
John Brown was condemned to hang. How did Julia Howe feel about his just punishment?
John Browns death will be holy and glorious. John Brown will glorify the gallows like Jesus
glorified the cross.
By now you should have an idea of what type of person Julia Howe was. What about the
song? The song has nothing to do with religion or God. It is a song about the destruction of
the South written with religious terminology. By looking at the words we can clearly see the
enmity that Howe had for the South.
by Dean Schneitman
The Battle Hymn was written in 1863 during the War Between the States by Julia Ward
Howe. On the surface it sounds as if it was written by a woman with deeply religious beliefs,
however, this is far from the truth." Julia Howe belonged to the Unitarian church and she did
NOT believe that Jesus was the Son of God. She did not believe in Hell or that Christianity
was the only pathway to God. Julia did believe that man was characteristically good and he
could redeem himself. I'll let Howes' own words speak out on these issues: "Not until the
Civil War did I officially join the Unitarian church and accept the fact that Christ was merely a
great teacher with no higher claim to preeminence in wisdom, goodness and power than many
other great men."
Julia Ward Howe was also a strong supporter of the murderer John Brown. In case you are
not familiar with John Brown, he was the man who took five slave owners in Kansas (1856)
and hacked them to death while making their families watch, proclaiming himself an instrument
of God's will. What did Mrs. Howe think about the murders? It was John Brown the Hero
who appealed to Howe as well as men like Emerson and Thoreau. For them Brown was
above the law; the atrocities at Pattawatomie were glossed over and romanticized.
John Brown is most widely known for his raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859 where the first person
to die at the hands of John Browns' men who had come to free the slaves was Hayward
Shepherd, who was in fact, a Negro already free. For his murdering rampage at Harpers Ferry
John Brown was condemned to hang. How did Julia Howe feel about his just punishment?
John Browns death will be holy and glorious. John Brown will glorify the gallows like Jesus
glorified the cross.
By now you should have an idea of what type of person Julia Howe was. What about the
song? The song has nothing to do with religion or God. It is a song about the destruction of
the South written with religious terminology. By looking at the words we can clearly see the
enmity that Howe had for the South.
by Dean Schneitman