Battle Cry of Freedom 2
According to Henry Stone, a Union war veteran recalling in the late 1880s, the song helped the morale of Union soldiers:
"A glee club came down from Chicago, bringing with them the new song, "We'll rally 'round the flag, boys", and it ran through the camp like wildfire. The effect was little short of miraculous. It put as much spirit and cheer into the army as a victory. Day and night one could hear it by every camp fire and in every tent. I never shall forget how the men rolled out the line, "And although he may be poor, he shall never be a slave." I do not know whether Mr. Root knows what good work his song did for us there, but I hope so."
— Henry Stone, The Century Illustrated, "Memoranda on the Civil War: A Song in Camp" (1887)
Here are several different versions of the song:
The Battle Cry Of Freedom
1. Yes, we'll rally round the flag, boys, we'll rally once again,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom,
We will rally from the hillside, we'll gather from the plain,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom!
The Union forever! Hurrah, boys, hurrah!
Down with the traitors, up with the stars;
While we rally round the flag, boys, we rally once again,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom!
2. We are springing to the call of our brothers gone before,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom!
And we'll fill our vacant ranks with a million freemen more,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom!
The Union forever! Hurrah, boys, hurrah!
Down with the traitors, up with the stars;
While we rally round the flag, boys, we rally once again,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom!
3. We will welcome to our numbers the loyal, true and brave,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom!
And although they may be poor, not a man shall be a slave,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom!
The Union forever! Hurrah, boys, hurrah!
Down with the traitors, up with the stars;
While we rally round the flag, boys, we rally once again,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom!
4. So we're springing to the call from the East and from the West,
Shouting the battle cry of Freedom;
And we'll hurl the rebel crew from the land we love best,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom!
The Union forever! Hurrah, boys, hurrah!
Down with the traitors, up with the stars;
While we rally round the flag, boys, we rally once again,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom!
In this next version, the video footage is from the movie "Gettysburg." In this scene we are seeing actors portraying soldiers from The 20th Maine Regiment who were lead by Joshua Chamberlain during the battle of Gettysburg, the worst battle of the war. This battle was a Union victory and the turning point of the war. It lasted for three days. There were more than 50,000 casualties (killed, wounded, captured, missing.)
The soldiers from Maine were defending a part of the battlefield known as "Little Round Top." They were low on ammunition so Chamberlain commanded his soldiers to attach their bayonets to their rifles and charge toward the Confederates who were at the bottom of the hill. The southerners were surprised by the charge and many surrendered. This action helped win the battle and earned Joshua Chamberlain the Medal Of Honor.
Here is the scene from the movie:
Here is "The Battle Cry of Freedom" with many scenes from movies: