The Battle Hymn Of The Republic

Originally Aired: December 4, 1940 Cavalcade of America #203, "The Battle Hymn Of The Republic," takes listeners on a remarkable journey through time, guided by narrator Alexander Woollcott, who invites Americans to look back and see themselves as they once were. The program transports the audience backward through the decades—past world wars, past prosperity and depression—all the way to November 1861, a critical moment in the nation's history. Standing on a "ledge outside of time," listeners observe a raw, unfinished Washington where pigs root in the muddy streets of Pennsylvania Avenue, where the Capitol dome remains skeletal, and where the Washington Monument stands as merely a stump surrounded by packing crates. In this pivotal moment, the program reveals Lincoln at the White House window, gazing across the Potomac at the Confederate flag, penning notes that will become some of history's most enduring words. Outside, troops from across the North march endlessly while the young, untrained Army of the Potomac camps in countless tents, their watch fires dotting the meadows. Through composer Deems Taylor's original musical score, this biography of a masterpiece explores the America that would soon give birth to one of its most treasured songs.