A Short History Of ‘Battle Hymn Of The Republic’
Its powerful apocalyptic vision of a reckoning God captured the civil religion sentiment of a Union fighting for freedom for all people.
By Christine Weerts
July 4, 2021
On July 4, 1863, Chaplain Charles McCabe and his unit, the 122nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry, were sitting in the dank Confederate prison in Richmond, Virginia. There were rumors that a great battle had just been fought in a town called Gettysburg about 200 miles north. Prison officials told them the Union had been defeated. They despaired.
Then a man who worked at the prison whispered to one of the men, “No, that was wrong.” The Battle of Gettysburg, fought July 1-3, was a great Union victory, he said. Many now believe it was the turning point of the war. The men cheered and wept, and McCabe led them in the jubilant ballad:
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored
Hhe has loosed his fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword
His truth is marching on.
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https://thefederalist.com/2021/07/04/a-short-history-of-battle-hymn-of-the-republic/
