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FAMOUS SONGS
period. After leaving the army, Dwight be-came president of the Yale College, a position he held till his death, which occurred in 1817.
A very hastily composed song was " America," written by the Rev. Samuel Francis Smith (born 1808) in 1832 at Andover Seminary, Mass. Though very unpretentious, it has secured a permanent place in the hearts of the people. The words were written to " God Save the Queen," the tune to which the lyric is still sung.
During the great Civil War many stirring lays issued forth, though the majority are quite forgotten now. An exception is "Marching through Georgia," with its almost irresistible melody. It was written by Henry C. Work, who wrote quite a number of patriotic and homely songs that were at one time exceed-ingly popular. Dr. George F. Root also was responsible for a vast quantity of military songs, his " Battle Cry of Freedom" was not the least striking of the northern melodies. " From the year 1861 till the close of the war, it was heard everywhere; and it is a matter of history that the Union cause was aided in many a critical juncture by its stirring strains. Dr. Root is doubtless entitled to the position of America's foremost writer of war songs. His composi-
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