Patrick Gilmore
Patrick Gilmore was an activist of freedom and revolution in America during the era of civil war in America. His activism dwelt in songwriting and singing and not from the political arena. He composed the song “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” in September 1863. The song’s words and music were credited to “Louis Lambert.” However, its copyright was retained by the publisher, Henry Tolman & Co., of Boston. Gilmore chose to publish the song under a pseudonym probably, though not clear, to add a touch of romantic mystery to the composition. The song was a dedication to the artist’s sister, who was hopeful that her fiancé who had left for war was going to return home safe. The mentioned fiancé was a Captain for the Union Light Artillery; his name was John O’Rourke.
Gilmore later acknowledged the fact that the music was not original. He, however, referred it in an 1883 article in the Musical Herald as, “a musical waif which I happened to hear somebody humming in the early days of the rebellion, and taking a fancy to it, wrote it down, dressed it up, gave it a name, and rhymed it into usefulness for a special purpose suited to the times.” “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” became popular as either side sang it of the American Civil War. The song, as well, came as a hit in England.
In that regard, Gilmore would be persuading his sister’s subconscious fear that the fiancée might end up perishing in the war zone. The artist was trying to soothe the mind of the woman longing that the civil war ends or if not so, the volunteers who went fighting in the war would get back safely. In general, the song highlights the overall mood of the citizens of America with respect to the war. So many people probably were fed up with it, and the relatives were longing to see their loved ones sound and safe back at home.
Gilmore’s lyrics, particularly the line “Get ready for the Jubilee,” is rhetoric in the manner that it is signaling that victory the end is almost over and probably not just the ending of the war but the soldiers coming out as conquerors. He instills hope in people who were almost at the point of giving up waiting on when the war was going to end.
In other words, Gilmore was an anti-civil war activist trying to promote peace of mind amongst the people and to make them believe that everything that was going on would end successfully. Aside from that, Gilmore was a patriot to the nation, as is evident from the line “The village lads and lassies say.” So then, the song carries quite a number of activism, all relating to the civil war. Gilmore is persuading the people socially to calm and focus on the victorious end rather than sticking to the pessimistic mindsets that were created as the war escalated and never seemed to show any signs of ending. Gilmore, in the end, is able through persuasion in the song “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” to manipulate the audience to stay calm and kept the faith that victory was coming their way.