{{Short description|First American Civil War-era song}} {{More citations needed|date=January 2025}} {{Multiple image | direction = horizontal | total_width = 275 | image1 = 1861 sheet music of "The First Gun Is Fired" by George F. Root, published by Root & Cady.png | alt1 = "The First Gun Is Fired" sheet music cover | caption1 = Original 1861 sheet music cover of "The First Gun Is Fired" by Root & Cady | caption_align = center }}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2022}}{{Use American English|date=January 2025}} "'''The First Gun Is Fired, May God Protect the Right'''"<ref group="lower-alpha">Also stylized "The First Gun Is Fired! 'May God Protect the Right'".</ref> is a patriotic song written and composed by George Frederick Root in 1861. A response to the attack on Fort Sumter, it is the first song of the American Civil War. It called for "the freeborn sons of the North [to] arise" and "bow no more to the tyrant few."<ref name=":0">Root, "The First Gun Is Fired", 3–4</ref>
Prior to the war's onset, Root was already a established musician. He left his mark in nurturing American music education and composing homespun, popular songs that distinctly appealed to the masses. In 1860, Root moved to Chicago to work at Root & Cady, a leading American music store. He would later become its director. Root wrote about topical subjects. When the Civil War broke out, his populist approach to music duly translated into a rousing rallying song, "The First Gun Is Fired".
Published on April 15, the tune met little commercial success. However, it would herald the most successful songwriting career of the Civil War. Root produced the most wartime songs—chief among them, "The Battle Cry of Freedom", the Union's rallying song, and "Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!". He even earned praise from President Abraham Lincoln for his service.<ref name=":2">Fuld, "Patriotic Music" § Up to the Civil War</ref>
== Background ==
=== Root as a songwriter === {{Multiple image | direction = horizontal | total_width = | image1 = George F. Root in 1860.png | alt1 = George Frederick Root portrait | caption1 = George Frederick Root in 1860, best known for "The Battle Cry of Freedom" and other Unionist compositions | caption_align = center }} According to writer George Birdseye, Root is a worthy successor to Stephen Foster as the "songwriter of America." Early on, he recognized his musical talent and desired to cultivate it. He left the farm to the big city, Boston, at age eighteen. Root did not have a direct career path to follow yet. However, an opportunity was conferred upon him by A. N. Johnson, a successful organist and music teacher. Johnson was pleased with Root’s talent, offering him a permanent position in his music school. Root quickly managed to make a living. Five years following the partnership’s start, Root was persuaded to move to New York City by Jacob Abbott, principal at Abbott’s Institute (a school). He thereby started providing music lessons at other private institutions, such as Springler's and Rutger's. His first appreciable venture into songwriting was "The Hazel Dell". The tune was so successful that the publishing house, William Hall & Son, promptly signed him up for an exclusive three-year contract. In 1853, Root helped found the Normal Musical Institute, a music teachers' convention of sorts. At the time, he was still, primarily, a music teacher, but the passion for songwriting demanded that he spend more time on independent creations.
In 1860, he became a partner of Root & Cady; his entry "immediately effected an increase of business and popularity to an already well-established house." Root's greatest contributions, and those that reaped most reward, were his Civil War-era songs. In Birdseye’s words, they "both fired and solaced the Northern heart during that war." He composed over thirty war songs, and rivalled even Stephen Foster in terms of popularity. Root published over two hundred songs.
=== Outbreak of war === {{Multiple image | direction = horizontal | total_width = 280 | image1 = Bombardment of Fort Sumter.jpg | alt1 = Fort Sumter illustration | caption1 = The attack on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, which ignited the American Civil War | caption_align = center }}
Secession.
In early 1861, the most urgent standoff between the Union and the Confederacy centered on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. The small federal garrison there, commanded by Maj. Gen. Robert Anderson, was running dangerously low on food and thus could only hold out for about six weeks before surrender. The American flag over Fort Sumter had by then become a potent symbol of Union authority, and Lincoln hesitated to abandon it despite advice from senior leaders. Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott, the army’s commander, believed reinforcing the fort was impossible, and Secretary of State William Seward favored withdrawal. Only one cabinet member supported holding firm.
Lincoln, wary of appearing weak, looked for alternatives. He authorized troop landings at Fort Pickens in Florida, though the orders were not executed. Gustavus V. Fox, a former naval officer and Blair’s brother-in-law, proposed resupplying Fort Sumter by sea. After surveying Charleston, Fox reported the plan feasible. On March 29, after intense debate, Lincoln won cabinet support for the resupply effort, with only Seward opposed. He ordered Fox to assemble a fleet by April 6.
The move forced the Confederacy’s hand: if fighting broke out, Southerners would fire first. Fox’s fleet sailed April 9, and Confederate President Jefferson Davis demanded Anderson’s surrender. When Anderson refused, Confederate guns opened fire on April 12, 1861. After thirty-six hours, Fort Sumter capitulated. The next day, Lincoln called for 75,000 troops, commencing the Civil War.<ref>Gienapp, ''Abraham Lincoln'', 78–82</ref>
==Composition== {{Quote box | title = Original lyrics<ref>{{Multiref|Root, "The First Gun Is Fired", 3–5|James E. Arsenault, "The First Gun Is Fired!"|Silber, ''Songs of the Civil War'', 7–8|''Western Reserve Chronicle'', "Poetry", 1}}</ref><ref group="lower-alpha">The sources all agree on the lyrics themselves, but some differ on the punctuation. For instance, some place an exclamation point in the introductory verse of each stanza. For consistency's sake, the lyrics are copied verbatim from the original sheet music (Root, "The First Gun Is Fired").</ref> | quote = <poem style="margin-left: 4px; margin-bottom: -1.5em; margin-top: -1.5em"; width: 100px>
The first gun is fired. May God protect the right, Let the freeborn sons of the North arise In power's avenging might; Shall the glorious Union our fathers made, By ruthless hands be sundered, And we of freedom's sacred rights By trait'rous foes be plundered?
''CHORUS'' Arise! Arise! Arise! And gird ye for the fight, And let our watchword ever be, "May God protect the right." <br/> </poem> {{hidden begin|contentstyle=margin|ta2=center|fontsize=88%}}<poem> The first gun is fired. Its echoes thrill the land, And the bounding hearts of the patriot throng, Now firmly take their stand; We will bow no more to the tyrant few Who scorn our long forbearing, But with Columbia's stars and stripes We'll quench their trait'rous daring.
''(CHORUS)''
The first gun is fired. Oh! heed the signal well, And the thunder tone as it rolls along Shall sound oppression's knell; For the arm of freedom is mighty still, Its strength shall fail us never, That strength we'll give to our righteous cause And our glorious land forever.
''(CHORUS)'' </poem> {{hidden end}} | source = George Frederick Root | align = right | width = 40% | border = 1px | fontsize = 85% | bgcolor = #fdfad5 | title_bg = #ffe36f | qalign = center | salign = right }} === Lyrical analysis ===
Root dedicated "The First Gun Is Fired" to "all who love Union and Freedom."<ref>{{Multiref|Carder, ''George F. Root'', 103|Root, "The First Gun Is Fired", 1}}</ref> In the early Civil War-era context, "freedom" does not necessarily signify emancipation. Rather, according to historian Gary W. Gallagher when commenting on "The Battle Cry of Freedom", Root promotes the notion that Americans can only be free if their nation is united. This harks back to Daniel Webster's famous equation of "Liberty and Union". "Freedom" may also denote freedom for all Americans regardless of class—the ability of working-class white people to thrive against a Southern slaveholding oligarchy.<ref>Gallagher, "Freedom"</ref>
The subtitle "May God Defend the Right,"<ref>Root, "The First Gun Is Fired", 1</ref> recurring in the chorus (with "protect" instead of "defend"),<ref>Root, "The First Gun Is Fired", 5</ref> suits Root's background in Christian hymnody.<ref>{{Multiref|Howard, ''Our American Music'', 266|McNeil, ''American Gospel Music'', 324–325|Spaeth, ''History of Popular Music'', 127}}</ref> In fact, many of his popular compositions bear religious overtones.<ref>see e.g. Carder, ''George F. Root'', 53, 57, 75</ref> Faith was a prevalent motif in Unionist music; Christian imagery imparted a sense of righteousness tied to their cause,<ref name=":1">Silber, ''Songs of the Civil War'', 8</ref> evident in Julia Ward Howe's "Battle Hymn of the Republic"<ref>Silber, ''Songs of the Civil War'', 10</ref> and Root's "God Bless Our Young Brave Volunteers".<ref name=":1" />
Root's lyrics "[flow] with energy and conviction."<ref>quoted in Carder, ''George F. Root'', 103</ref>
The final two lines of the chorus are intended to be sung in four-part harmony. According to Carder, the song strikingly resembles a tune in Joseph Haydn's oratorio ''The Creation'', "The Heavens Are Telling".<ref>Carder, ''George F. Root'', 103</ref>
=== General analysis === Root was an avid practitioner of what might be called occasional music. As he would profess, "I never dreamed of eminence as a writer of music [...] I am simply one who…makes music for the people, having always a particular need in view." He excelled at making accessible music that served a specific purpose, for the classroom, church, home, and in this case, a patriotic rally—his song serving to unify an alarmed public on the brink of civil war. "The First Gun Is Fired" captured a historic moment and filled a need in the first days of the war.<ref>Jacob E. Arsenault, "The First Gun Is Fired!"</ref>
==References== === Notes === {{References list|group=lower-alpha}}
=== Citations === {{reflist}}
== Bibliography == === Books === {{refbegin|40em}} * {{Cite book |last=Carder |first=P. H. |url=https://archive.org/details/georgefrootcivil0000card |title=George F. Root, Civil War Songwriter: A Biography |publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc. |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-7864-3374-2 |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |ref={{harvid|George F. Root}}}} * {{Cite book |last=Ewen |first=David |url=https://archive.org/details/popularamericanc00ewen |title=Popular American Composers from Revolutionary Times to the Present: A Biographical and Critical Guide |publisher=H. W. Wilson Company, Inc. |year=1962 |isbn=978-0824200404 |location=New York City, New York |ref={{harvid|Popular American Composers}}}} * {{Cite book |last=Finson |first=Jon W. |author-link=Jon W. Finson |url=https://archive.org/details/voicesthataregon0000fins |title=The Voices That Are Gone: Themes in Nineteenth-Century American Popular Song |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1994 |isbn=0-19-505750-3 |location=New York City, New York |ref={{harvid|The Voices That Are Gone}}}} * {{cite book |last=Gienapp |first=William E. |author-link=William Gienapp |url=https://archive.org/details/abrahamlincolnci0000gien/mode/2up |title=Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America: A Biography |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2002 |isbn=0-19-515100-3 |location=New York City, New York |ref={{harvid|Abraham Lincoln}}}} * {{Cite book |last1=Hattaway |first1=Herman |url=https://archive.org/details/hownorthwonmilit0000hatt |title=How the North Won: A Military History of the Civil War |last2=Jones |first2=Arthur |publisher=University of Illinois Press |year=1991 |isbn=0-252-06210-8 |edition=2 |location=Chicago, Illinois |ref={{harvid|How the North Won}}}} * {{cite book |last=Howard |first=John T. |author-link=John Tasker Howard |url=https://archive.org/details/ouramericanmusic00howa |title=Our American Music: Three Hundred Years of It |publisher=Thomas Y. Crowell Company |year=1946 |isbn= |edition=3rd |location=New York |ref={{harvid|Our American Music}}}} * {{Cite book |last1=Kelley |first1=Bruce C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dle2W2aVN2oC |title=Bugle Resounding: Music and Musicians of the Civil War Era |last2=Snell |first2=Mark A. |publisher=University of Missouri Press |year=2004 |isbn=0-8262-1538-6 |location=Columbia, Missouri |ref={{harvid|Bugle Resounding}}}} * {{Cite book |last=McNeil |first=W. K. |url=https://www.google.com.mt/books/edition/Encyclopedia_of_American_Gospel_Music/uqT-CJYcqskC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA324&printsec=frontcover&page=384 |title=Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music |publisher=Routledge |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-415-94179-2 |location=New York City, New York |author-link=W. K. McNeil |ref={{harvid|American Gospel Music}}}} * {{Cite book |last=McWhirter |first=Christian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rRjYSJ7HtYcC |title=Battle Hymns: The Power and Popularity of Music in the Civil War |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-8078-3550-0 |location=Chapel Hill, North Carolina |ref={{harvid|Battle Hymns}}}} * {{Cite book |last=Root |first=George F. |author-link=George Frederick Root |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r99mo8SAVHcC |title=The Story of a Musical Life: An Autobiography by Geo F. Root |publisher=The John Church Co. |year=1891 |isbn=978-1-4047-8329-4 |location=Cincinnati, Ohio |ref={{harvid|Story of a Musical Life}}}} * {{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/newgrovedictiona0016unse_o4o1/page/182/ |title=The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians |publisher=Macmillan Publishers |year=1995 |isbn=0-333-23111-2 |editor-last=Sadie |editor-first=Stanley |edition=6 |volume=16 |location=London, United Kingdom |ref={{harvid|New Grove Dictionary}}}} * {{Cite book |last=Silber |first=Irwin |author-link=Irwin Silber |url=https://archive.org/details/songsofcivilwar0000unse |title=Songs of the Civil War |publisher=Dover Publications |year=1995 |isbn=0-486-28438-7 |location=Mineola, New York |ref={{harvid|Songs of the Civil War}}}} * {{Cite book |last=Spaeth |first=Sigmund |author-link=Sigmund Spaeth |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofpopular00spae |title=A History of Popular Music in America |publisher=Random House |year=1948 |location=New York |ref={{harvid|History of Popular Music}}}} {{refend}}
=== Studies and journals === {{refbegin|40em}} * {{Cite journal |last=Birdseye |first=George |year=1879 |title=America's Song Composers: II. George F. Root |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_potters-american-monthly_1879-02_12_86/page/144 |journal=Potter's American Monthly |volume=12 |issue=86 |pages=145–148 |via=Internet Archive |ref={{harvid|America's Song Composers}}}} * {{Cite journal |last=Epstein |first=Dena J. |author-link=Dena Epstein |year=1944 |title=Music Publishing in Chicago before 1871: The Firm of Root & Cady, 1858-1871 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/891291 |journal=Notes |volume=1 |issue=4 |pages=43–59 |doi=10.2307/891291 |jstor=891291 |ref={{harvid|Music Publishing in Chicago}}|url-access=subscription }} {{refend}}
=== Websites === {{refbegin|40em}} * {{Cite web |last=Fuld |first=James J. |date=July 10, 2012 |title=Patriotic music |url=https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/display/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-1002225007#omo-9781561592630-e-1002225007 |access-date=January 16, 2025 |website=Grove Music Online |ref={{harvid|Patriotic Music}}}} * {{Cite web |last=Gallagher |first=Gary W. |author-link=Gary W. Gallagher |date=February 15, 2024 |title=In Patriotic Melodies in the Civil War North, 'Freedom' Wasn’t Necessarily a Cry for African-American Emancipation|url=https://www.historynet.com/patriotic-song-battle-cry-of-freedom/ |access-date=January 15, 2025 |website=HistoryNet |ref={{harvid|Freedom}}}} * {{Cite web |title=Fort Sumter |url=https://www.battlefields.org/learn/civil-war/battles/fort-sumter |access-date=January 15, 2025 |website=American Battlefield Trust |ref={{harvid|Fort Sumter}}}} * {{Cite web |title=George Frederick Root |url=https://songofamerica.net/composer/root-george-frederick/ |access-date=January 15, 2025 |website=Song of America |ref={{harvid|George Frederick Root}}}} * {{Cite web |title=The First Gun Is Fired! ‘May God Protect the Right!’ Rallying Song and Chorus |url=https://www.jamesarsenault.com/pages/books/4362/george-frederick-root-composer/the-first-gun-is-fired-may-god-protect-the-right-rallying-song-and-chorus?soldItem=true |access-date=January 15, 2025 |website=Jacob E. Arsenault & Company |ref={{harvid|The First Gun Is Fired!}}}} {{refend}}
=== Other media === {{refbegin|40em}} * {{Cite book |last=Root |first=George F. |url=https://digitalcollections-baylor.quartexcollections.com/Documents/Detail/the-first-gun-is-fired-may-god-protect-the-right-song-and-chorus/2263052 |title=The First Gun Is Fired |publisher=Root & Cady |year=1861 |location=Chicago, Illinois |via=Baylor University Digital Collections |access-date=January 15, 2025 |ref={{harvid|The First Gun Is Fired}}}} * {{Cite news |date=May 17, 1861 |title=Poetry: "The First Gun Is Fired. 'May God Protect the Right!'" |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84028385/1861-05-17/ed-1/seq-1 |access-date=January 15, 2025 |work=Western Reserve Chronicle |pages=1 |ref={{harvid|Poetry}}}} {{refend}}
==External links== * [https://digitalcollections-baylor.quartexcollections.com/Documents/Detail/the-first-gun-is-fired-may-god-protect-the-right-song-and-chorus/2263052?item=2263055 Sheet music] via Baylor University Digital Collections * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-I9duc8W6Q Recording] by Don and Katie King in 2011 * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvRadKGQGs8 Recording] by angloconc on the concertina in 2014{{Portal bar|American Civil War|Music}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:First Gun Is Fired, The}} Category:1861 songs First Gun Category:Songs written by George Frederick Root Category:American patriotic songs Category:Music of Chicago Category:Americana (music) Category:American Civil War in popular culture