<P> Kimball 's battalion was dispatched to Murray , Kentucky early in the Civil War , and Julia Ward Howe heard this song during a public review of the troops outside Washington D.C. on Upton Hill , Virginia . Rufus R. Dawes , then in command of Company `` K '' of the 6th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry , stated in his memoirs that the man who started the singing was Sergeant John Ticknor of his company . Howe 's companion at the review , The Reverend James Freeman Clarke , suggested to Howe that she write new words for the fighting men 's song . Staying at the Willard Hotel in Washington on the night of November 18 , 1861 , Howe wrote the verses to the `` Battle Hymn of the Republic '' . Of the writing of the lyrics , Howe remembered : </P>
<P> Kimball 's battalion was dispatched to Murray , Kentucky early in the Civil War , and Julia Ward Howe heard this song during a public review of the troops outside Washington D.C. on Upton Hill , Virginia . Rufus R. Dawes , then in command of Company `` K '' of the 6th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry , stated in his memoirs that the man who started the singing was Sergeant John Ticknor of his company . Howe 's companion at the review , The Reverend James Freeman Clarke , suggested to Howe that she write new words for the fighting men 's song . Staying at the Willard Hotel in Washington on the night of November 18 , 1861 , Howe wrote the verses to the `` Battle Hymn of the Republic '' . Of the writing of the lyrics , Howe remembered : </P>
who wrote the battle hymm of the republic
who wrote the battle hymm of the republic
Julia Ward Howe
Julia Ward Howe