War Department

DESCRIPTION: "No more shall the sound of the war-whoop be heard, The ambush and slaughter no longer be feared, The tomahawk, buried, shall rest in the ground, And peace and goodwill to the nations around."
AUTHOR: unknown (see NOTES)
EARLIEST DATE: 1835 (according to Eddy)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
MidwestFolklore, Mary O. Eddy, "Twenty Folk Hymns," Volume 3, Number 1 (Spring 1953), p. 40, "War Department 11's" (1 short text, 1 tune)
NOTES [121 words]: A very rare piece found only in a handful of shape note hymnals. I have no idea why Eddy included it. The Southern Harmony cites as its source "Mercer's Cluster," i.e. Jesse Mercer's "The Cluster of Spiritual Songs, Divine Hymns, and Sacred Poems," the first edition of which apparently was from before 1810 but which included no tunes. Did Mercer write it? It seems possible but not certain. And there is no hint as to the composer of the tune (which Eddy says can be traced to 1846). I have a feeling it is a reference to the campaigns against the Indians promoted and sometimes led by Andrew Jackson, but that isn't much help, since his genocides ran from the War of 1812 until the end of his presidential term in 1837. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.8
File: MWF3040B

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