The Battle Hymn of the Republic is a patriotic anthem, written by Julia Ward Howe, that was made popular during the American Civil War. The original words and music were written in 1853 by South Carolinian William Steffe. It was alternately called "Canaan's Happy Shore" or "Brothers, Will You Meet Me?" and was sung as a campfire spiritual. The catchy tune spread across the country, taking on many sets of new lyrics (most of them vulgar).

A man from Vermont named Thomas Bishop joined the Massachusetts Infantry before the outbreak of war and wrote a popular set of lyrics titled John Brown’s Body (after the radical abolitionist) which became one of his unit's walking songs. Bishop's battalion was dispatched to Washington, D.C., in 1862. Returning from a public review of the troops Julia Ward Howe sang with them. Her companion, the Reverend James Clarke, suggested to Howe that she write new words for the fighting men's song and the current version of "Battle Hymn of the Republic" was born.

However, according to writer Irwin Silber (who has written a book about Civil War folksongs), the song Mrs. Howe heard was not about John Brown the abolitionist but a Scotsman, also named John Brown, who was a member of the 12th Massachusetts Regiment. An article by writer Mark Stevn provides some background behind the story. Apparently, the men of John Brown's unit had made up a song poking fun at him. It was this song they sang when Mrs. Howe passed by. Mrs. Howe, and everyone else who heard it, assumed (not unreasonably) that song was about John Brown the abolitionist.

Howe's "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" was first published on the front page of The Atlantic Monthly of February 1862. The sixth verse written by Howe, which is less commonly sung, was not published at that time.  (Information from Wikipedia)

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