14 Jan America’s 250th Birthday: Relearning “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”
Written at the onset of America’s Civil War, Julia Ward Howe’s title and lyrics captured the spirit of America-as-founded. The Union was the side she saw to be aligned with America’s divinely inspired ideal of liberty. The Union was going to battle to preserve that ideal and the Republic that was established to protect it.
When Ms. Howe wrote the song in 1861, the outcome of the Civil War was not yet known. Much like the producer of the film classic Casablanca—who also did not know at the time of production in 1942 how World War II would end—Ms. Howe nevertheless had an instinctive feel for what was at stake and what was the righteous side to be fighting for:
He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat;
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet;
Our God is marching on.
…
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.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! While God is marching on.
Ms. Howe in 1861 saw light at the end of a very dark tunnel…and though she was not an Army General full of strategies, tactics and battle plans, she was confident that the Union was on the right path out of the tunnel. She was confident because the Union was rising through faith in God–the God of the Bible who is a loving God and the author of liberty, and a God who, regardless of the appearance of temporary and sometimes even devastating setbacks in the midst of the human convulsions of the time, is always on the march to advance it.
America seems in 2026 to be in another dark tunnel. Communism, Marxism and especially Islamism deny the existence or authority of the God of the Bible, and their adherents seem to be colluding and on the move to destroy America-as-founded. They are hell-bent (literally) to overturn the law-and-order culture and morality defined by the 10 Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount.
In the days, weeks and months ahead, millions of words will be written and spoken about the nature of the ‘tunnel’ America is now going through. Some of those words will appear in this Substack.
For now, recall Julia Ward Howe’s Battle Hymn of the Republic. American patriots then and now are moved by her lyrics and the melody; they ring true; they stir the soul; they motivate, rightly. This version by the United States Army field band on YouTube alone has had over 29 million views. There are many other renditions.
Our God is marching on.
Eric Georgatos