Marching Song of the First Arkansas Colored Regiment

Versions of
Marching Song of the First Arkansas Colored Regiment
Lindley Miller and/or Sojourner Truth

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One of the few Civil War-era songs inspired by the lyrical structure of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and the tune of "John Brown's Body" that is still performed and recorded today. The song's lyrics are attributed to the regiment's white officer, Captain Lindley Miller. An almost identical song, "The Valiant Soldiers," is attributed to Sojourner Truth in post-Civil War editions of her Narrative. Recent scholarship supports Miller as the original author, or at least compiler, of the "Marching Song."

2130814Marching Song of the First Arkansas Colored RegimentLindley Miller and/or Sojourner Truth

Versions of Marching Song of the First Arkansas Colored Regiment include:

"Song of the First of Arkansas" attr. Lindley Miller, broadside published by the Supervisory Committee for Recruiting Colored Regiments (1864).
"The Valiant Soldiers" attr. Sojourner Truth, as published in the Narrative of Sojourner Truth (1883).