10 x 14"
Watercolor, ink, chalk

Author's Statement (PDF)

First portion of original play
Glory, Glory (PDF)

Music (PDF)

Julia Ward Howe

1819-1921

Early one November morning in 1861, soon after the Civil War had started, Julia Ward Howe woke up with the words of the “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” formed in her mind. Rising while it was still dark, she wrote them down.

Her still-sleeping husband had wanted a wife who lived only for him, not a wife with a life outside the home, who spoke in public, and who published her poetry. However, that February “The Battle Hymn” appeared in the Atlantic Monthly and brought Mrs. Howe into public life. From then on, In spite of her husband’s objections, she lectured, wrote, published, organized, founded, and presided — first to advance women's welfare, then into the wider cause of helping the victims of Europe’s many wars. This led her to the question, “Why do not the mothers of mankind interfere in these matters. . . ?” To discover how to interfere, she determined to institute a Mothers Day for Peace:

Arise, then, women of this day!
. . . As men have often forsaken the plow and the anvil at the summons of war, let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel. . . .

For several years she pursued her plan to organize a women’s world-wide protest against war. However, the cause never acquired momentum, and her project ended in disappointment. Today she is remembered for the inspiration of one early morning.