A Civil War-era African-American spiritual, Go Down, Moses, was first used as a rallying anthem for people who had escaped slavery sometime before July 1862. It could have originated from Virginia in 1853. The sheet music was published under the title Oh! Let My People Go: The Song of the Contrabands in 1862, words and music by Rev. L. C. Lockwood, arranged by Thomas Baker and published by Horace Waters.
The spiritual, also known as When Israel Was in Egypt's Land, describes the exodus of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. The lyrics discuss freedom to both Israelites and enslaved people.
In an authorized biography of Harriet Tubman, she stated she used Go Down Moses as one of two code songs during her work with the Underground Railroad. It is possible that the song predates the 1853 claim.
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