the song's lyrics, Arthur Johnston stated that "Britannia, the Pride of the Ocean" had come first, "Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean" being adapted from it. Johnston claimed that "the phrase, 'the service united' referred to the United Service Club, for which the song was written, the members of which belong both to the army and the navy". Johnston also opines that to refer to the United States as "the gem of the ocean" would be "an absurdity" and the phrase more likely was an original reference to Great Britain. W. H. Grattan Flood also arrived at Johnston's conclusion of the British provenance of the song. He stated that Irish journalist Stephen Joseph Meany penned the lyrics to Britannia, the Pride of the Ocean in 1842 which he then showed to a friend in London, Thomas E. Williams, who composed the accompanying melody. In 1915 Flood recalled speaking to an elderly relative of his who claimed to have heard the song performed in Dublin in 1842 as a 12-year-old boy. However, the earliest printed version of either song was the 1843 copyright version registered by American George Willig. The first printed version of the song in the United Kingdom ("Brittania, the Pride of the Ocean") did not appear until 1852, in a filing with the British Museum by T.E. Purday. Further, that version credits the song to David Shaw. Additionally, Meany – the Irishman whom Flood credits with the lyrics to "Britannia, the Pride of the Ocean" – was a Fenian who would eventually be imprisoned by the British government. Citing the dates of printing, William Studwell concludes that "the song was probably created in the United States". Cultural use According to William Studwell, "Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean" is the "oldest well-known song of entirely American origin which could, by style or content, qualify as a national anthem". In the mid-1800s, "Columbia the Gem of the Ocean" vied with other songs in the American "Patriotic Big Five" (also including "Hail, Columbia", the "Star-Spangled Banner", "Yankee Doodle", and "My Country Tis of Thee") for use as a national anthem, the United States at the time having no song officially designated as such. "Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean" reached a height of popularity during the presidency of Abraham Lincoln and subsequently became a staple in the repertoire of the United States Marine Band. The tune was later used repeatedly