United States of America Marching Song: John Brown's Body

The song “John Brown’s Body” was created by a number of Union soldiers during the Civil War, particularly those stationed at Fort Warren in Boston, Massachusetts. The song is a tribute to John Brown, a violent abolitionist executed in 1859 after leading a raid on Harper’s Ferry in an attempt to start a slave uprising. Julia Ward Howe would become inspired by the song’s popularity, writing her own song with the same tune, “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”, in 1862. This rendition of the song was performed by Pete Seeger in 1959 for his album “American Favorite Ballads Vol. 1”, wherein he incorporated a stanza from “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” at the end of the song.