ExploreSouthernHistory.com - Christian Hymn inspired by a Georgia Battle
ExploreSouthernHistory.com - Christian Hymn inspired by a Georgia Battle
"Hold the Fort"
The Star Fort at Allatoona Pass held out against
four determined Confederate assaults. The battle
there inspired the hymn, "Hold the Fort."
Allatoona from Kennesaw
The Allatoona Mountains can
be seen in the distance in this
view taken from the top of
Kennesaw Mountain.
A
An
Hold the Fort! - Christian Hymn inspired by Civil War Battle
Inspiration from Allatoona Pass
Copyright 2011 by Dale Cox
All rights reserved.
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William Tecumseh Sherman
The Union general sent
messages from Kennesaw
Mountain using signal flags
that inspired the writing of the
song "Hold the Fort."
They served as traveling evangelists,
speaking to crowds large and small and
carrying the story of the signals to Allatoona
Pass and the song with them.

In 1876, they actually visited Georgia and
climbed to the top of
Kennesaw Mountain.
There they saw the ruins of the Civil War
signal tower and in the distance could see
the Allatoona Mountains.

It was a moving moment for both men and
after kneeling in prayer, they sang "Hold the
Fort" together. Bliss told a friend that he
almost expected to see Jesus returning in
the sky at that moment.

Philip Paul Bliss went on to his Heavenly
reward before that year was out. A railroad
bridge collapsed in Ashtabula, Ohio, on
December 29, 1876, sending a train
crashing into Ashtabula Creek. Kerosene
lamps in the cars shattered, igniting a fire
that burned many passengers alive. Among
them were Philip Paul Bliss and his wife.

As is often the case, the story of the signals
sent to Allatoona as told by Whittle differed
somewhat from reality. General Sherman
himself wrote of the incident in a letter dated
June 22, 1875. While he remembered some
of the details used by Whittle at the Sunday
School Convention, he also noted, "I do not
think I used the words 'Hold the Fort'."

Sherman's memory was correct. The two
messages sent by flag to Allatoona from
Kennesaw Mountain on October 4, 1864,
read as follows:

Sherman is moving in force; Hold Out!

General Sherman says Hold Fast. We are
coming.

As Sherman himself later noted, however,
while he didn't say "Hold the Fort," that was
undoubtedly his intent. And in doing so, one
of the Civil War's toughest general inspired
one of Christianity's most beloved hymns.

Please click here to learn more about the
Battle of Allatoona Pass.
The Battle of Allatoona Pass was fought in
Bartow County, Georgia, on October 5, 1864.
It was signals sent before the first gun was
fired, however, that inspired one of America's
most beloved Christian hymns.

"Hold the Fort!" was written in 1870 by Philip
Paul Bliss, an evangelist and composer,
after he heard the story of the Union defense
of Allatoona Pass told in a Sunday School
class. The use of signal flags to send
messages from
Kennesaw Mountain near
Atlanta to the threatened garrison holding
Allatoona Pass was held forth as an example
of how Jesus Christ signals Christians to
hold strong to their beliefs, for "He is coming."

The meeting attended by Bliss took place in
Rockford, Illinois, on a Thursday and Friday,
April 28-29, 1870. Among the speakers was
Major Daniel Webster Whittle, who told how
on the day before the battle, General William
Tecumseh Sherman had sent messages by
signal flag to urge the garrison at Allatoona to
hold out.

Whittle remembered the message as saying,
"Hold the Fort; I am coming!"

His telling of the story so inspired Bliss that
he based a hymn on the story of Allatoona
Pass:

Ho, my comrades, see the signal,
Waving in the sky!
Reinforcements now appearing,
Victory is nigh.

"Hold the fort, for I am coming,"
Jesus signals still;
Wave the answer back to heaven,
By thy grace we will."

See the mighty host advancing,
Satan leading on,
Mighty men around us falling,
Courage almost gone!

"Hold the fort, for I am coming,"
Jesus signals still;
Wave the answer back to heaven,
By thy grace we will."

See the glorious banner waving,
Hear the trumpet blow!
In our Leader's name we'll triumph,
Over every foe.

"Hold the fort, for I am coming,"
Jesus signals still;
Wave the answer back to heaven,
By thy grace we will."

Fierce and long the battle rages,
But our help is near,
Onward comes our great Commander,
Cheer, my comrades, cheer.

"Hold the fort, for I am coming,"
Jesus signals still;
Wave the answer back to heaven,
By thy grace we will."

The song has been sung and played in
Christian churches for more than a century
and is loved by many. Curiously, a version
with different words is used as a rally song
by labor unions in Great Britain and the
Carribean.

Philip Paul Bliss and Daniel Webster Whittle
traveled through great areas of the country
over the years that followed the publication of
"Hold the Fort!"
Philip Paul Bliss
An evangelist and composer,
Bliss wrote "Hold the Fort"
after hearing the story of the
Battle of Allatoona Pass.
Photo: Library of Congress
View from Allatoona
This Barnard photo was taken
from the top of the mountain
at Allatoona Pass not long
after the battle there.