Childhood hymns about the man who battled slavery in US
Ican remember singing many hymns at school, particularly the one about “John Brown’s body lies a-mouldering in his grave”.
But I must confess that I still don’t know who the poor chap was.
So it’s over to you, Queries Man! – H.
It’s a song I recall having to belt out in my youth, too.
John Brown (1800-1859) was an American abolitionist, who believed in the use of armed insurrection to overthrow the institution of slavery in the United States.
“These men are all talk. What we need is action – action!” he once said of organised abolitionists.
In 1856, after the sacking of Lawrence, Kansas by pro-slavery activists, Brown and his men responded by killing five slavery supporters in what would be known as the Pottawatomie Massacre.
He also led a raid on the federal armoury at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, intending to start a slave liberation movement to spread south through Virginia and North Carolina.
However, only a small number of slaves joined his group and seven people were killed in the fighting.
Within a couple of days, most of Brown’s men were killed or captured.
Brown was one of the captured and he was hastily tried for treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia, the murder of five men (including three slaves), and inciting a slave insurrection.
He was found guilty on all counts and was hanged.
The song, The Battle Hymn Of The Republic, was given new lyrics in the aftermath of Brown’s execution to reflect the anger of the Union side in the American Civil War.