The song is dedicated to Union general Benjamin F. Butler, who was the first Union commander to allow escaped slaves to stay within Union lines. Claiming the former slaves were "contraband of war," Butler used the Confederates' insistance that slaves were property against them. He claimed that as property they could be legally "confiscated" under the rules of war. Butler's policy allowed thousands of slaves to find safety behind Union lines and influenced Lincoln's later decision to issue the Emancipation Proclamation."]]>
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The poem was set to music following Lincoln's death.]]>
The poem was set to music following Lincoln's death]]>
On cover: "To thee fair goddess our offerings we bring. Accept them though humble they be. For Gladly we trust to they keeping of the flag. That waves o're the brave and the free"]]>
The pro-Union version of the song presented here replaces the original anti-Lincoln and anti-Union verses with words favorable to the North and damning to the South.]]>