There is a tradition of folk songs being remixed and reinvented, and Battle Hymn of the Republic is a prime example of this. Julia Ward Howe wrote the song at the start of the Civil War after visiting with Union soldiers, but it is not an original song. The soldiers had composed their own marching song called John Brown’s Body, and Howe’s version is, essentially, a high-brow update to that song. In turn, Battle Hymn inspired subsequent adaptations, including Captain Lindley Miller’s The Marching Song of the First Arkansas Colored Regiment and Sojourner Truth’s Valiant Soldiers.

This PDF includes the chords and lyrics for both Battle Hymn of the Republic by Julia Ward Howe and The Marching Song of the First Arkansas Colored Regiment in the key of C using the C, Dm, E7, F, G7, and Am chords.