View source for William Steffe

{{redirect|Steffe|the Italian footballer|Demetrio Steffè|the Italian rower|Giovanni Steffè}}
{{Short description|American songwriter and businessman (1830–1890)}}
{{listen|filename=Battle Hymn of the Republic, Frank C. Stanley, Elise Stevenson.ogg|title=The Battle Hymn of the Republic|description="The Battle Hymn of the Republic", performed by [[Frank C. Stanley]], [[Elise Stevenson]], and a mixed quartet in 1908.|format=[[Ogg]]|title2=The Battle Hymn of the Republic
|filename2=Battle Hymn of the Republic (USAFB).ogg
|description2="[[The Battle Hymn of the Republic]]", Modern Jazz arrangement arranged by Eric Richards, performed by [[United States Air Force Band]] Airmen of Note.
}}
'''William Steffe''' (c.1830 – c.1890), born in [[South Carolina]], United States, was a [[Philadelphia]] bookkeeper and insurance agent.  He is credited with collecting and editing the musical tune for a [[Camp meeting|camp-meeting]] song with the traditional "Glory Hallelujah" refrain, in about 1856.<ref>Annie J. Randall, "A Censorship of Forgetting: Origins and Origin Myths of 'Battle Hymn of the Republic'", in Music, Power, and Politics, edited by Annie J. Randall, Routledge, 2004, p. 12, 15, 16.</ref>  It opened with  "Say, brothers, will you meet us / on Canaan's happy shore?"  The tune became widely known.

Early in the [[American Civil War]], this tune was used to create the [[Union army]] marching song "[[John Brown's Body]]", which begins with the lyrics "John Brown's body lies a-mouldering in the grave, but his soul goes marching on."

In November 1861, [[Julia Ward Howe]], having heard this version, used the tune as the basis of her new verse, later known as "[[The Battle Hymn of the Republic]]".

==References==
{{Reflist}}
*C. A. Brown (revised by Willard A. Heaps), ''The Story of Our National Ballads'', 1960, pages 174–178
*William A. Ward (ed.), ''The American Bicentennial Songbook, Vol. 1 (1770–1870s)'', 1975, page 236

==External links==
*[http://www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/parton/2/battle.html Battle hymn of the Republic (Julia Ward Howe/William Steffe) (1861)]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/1/www.unctv.org/thecivilwarexperience/warmusic.html Civil war music]
*[http://globalia.net/donlope/fz/songs/Battle_Hymn_Of_The_Republic.html The Battle Hymn Of The Republic (aka John Brown's Body)]
*[http://www.sbgmusic.com/html/teacher/reference/historical/civilwar.html Music of the Civil war]
*[https://walkerhomeschoolblog.wordpress.com/2018/01/22/william-steffe-and-the-battle-hymn-of-the-republic/ William Steffe and The Battle Hymn of the Republic]
*{{ChoralWiki|William Steffe}}
* {{Gutenberg author | id=33311}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=William Steffe}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steffe, William}}
[[Category:1830s births]]
[[Category:1890 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century American composers]]
[[Category:19th-century American male musicians]]
[[Category:American male composers]]
[[Category:Bookkeepers]]
[[Category:Insurance agents]]
[[Category:Musicians from South Carolina]]


{{US-composer-19thC-stub}}