Description
J. W. Myers sings a version of John Browns Body (originally titled John Browns Song) in this scratchy cylinder recording from 1903. This heroic march was written about abolitionist John Brown who launched an unsuccessful raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia). First played publicly in 1861 at Fort Warren near Boston, the song became an anthem for Northern soldiers and abolitionists who turned Brown into a symbol of antislavery courage and righteousness. In the tradition of folk music, the tune for this song was borrowed from an earlier song—Say Brothers, Will You Meet Us, a religious camp meeting song that dated to the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries. The same tune was also adopted by Julia Ward Howes The Battle Hymn of the Republic, which became a favorite among Union soldiers.
