When in doubt , throw another story into the pot. The source of this is "The Singing Sixties" by W A and PW Heaps (1960 Univ Oklahoma Press). They say that the tune was composed some time before 1855 by a South Carolinian named William Steffe and had bcome popular at camp meetings with a chorus line of "Say, brothers, will you meet us on Canaan's happy shore?". When a battalion of the 12th Massachusetts Regiment was stationed at Fort Warren in Boston early in the war, some of the members used the tune to taunt a soldier named John Brown. The conversion to the Abolitionist John Brown was not a big step. The song was published in Boston in 1861 by Oliver Ditson & Co. with the title page: "the popular refrain of Glory, Hallelujah as sung by the Federal Volunteers throughout the union. It became the marching song of the 12th Regiment and quickly spread to other units when the 12th Regiment was sent to the battle front. It had a catchy rhythm and soldiers shouted the refrain on marches and many units added their own verses. When abolition became an official reason for the war, the song was used at many civilian political rallies and fund-raisers as well. It was variously called "Tthe John Brown Song", "John Brown's Body", or "Glory Hallelujah". A reproduction of the 1861 sheet music can be found in "The Civil War Songbook" by Richard Crawford (1977 Dover Publications). As alluded to by Uncle Jacques, the sheet music has 3 "glory's" in the second phrase of the refrain (but only two in the first and third). It also has the name "Ellsworth" as an alternative to "John Brown" , i.e both are printed. I do not know who Ellsworth might have been. Because of the popularity of the tune a number of potential and real poets came up with lyric versions that made no mention of John Brown. The 13th Massachusetts Regiment went off to battle with this set: Cheer for the banner as we rally 'neath the stars,
As we join the Northern legion and are off for the wars,
Ready for the onset, for bullet, blood and scars!
Cheer for the dear old flag!

Glory!, Glory! Glory for the North!
Glory to the soldiers she is sending forth!
Glory!, Glory! Glory for the North!
They'll conquer as they go.

Howe wrote her religious marching lyrics in November of 1861 and they were first published annonymously in the February 1862 Atlantic Monthly. Howe was piad $5. Sheet music published in 1862 in Boston by Oliver Ditson & Co. (this is also reproduced in the Crawford book) has on the title page: "Battle Hymn of the Republic, Adapted to the favorite melody of "Glory, Hallelujah," written by Mrs. Dr. S. G. Howe for the Atlantic Monthly". The tunes in the two sheet music pieces are the same (including the 3 "glory's" in the second line of the refrain).

rich r