FROM THE ARCHIVES: NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY SONGS On December 22, 1806, the New England Society held a dinner to celebrate the 186th anniversary year of the landing of the Pilgrims in Plymouth, MA. Two songs were written for the occasion, Song I and Song II. Words to these songs are on the following page. Song I is sung to the tune of Hail, Columbia which was originally composed for George Washington’s inauguration by Philip Phile in 1789. Known as The President’s March, Joseph Hopkinson arranged the piece with lyrics in 1798. Hail, Columbia became a popular patriotic song and it was the unofficial national anthem of the United States until 1931 when it was replaced with The Star-Spangled Banner. Columbia was a goddess-like symbol who personified the national spirit and the United States. This poetic name was used in the 18th and 19th centuries. Hail, Columbia is now the official song for the Vice President of the United States. Song II is sung to the tune of To Anacreon in Heaven, a popular British drinking song that was originally composed by John Stafford Smith for the Anacreontic Society, a London men’s club. The tune, used with different sets of lyrics, was popular both in England and in the United States throughout the 19th century. In 1814, Francis Scott Keyes, wrote Defence of Fort McHenry while watching the British naval ships bombard Fort McHenry in Chesapeake Bay during the War of 1812. This poem was set to the tune of To Anacreon in Heaven and renamed The Star-Spangled Banner. In 1931, during the Presidency of Herbert Hoover, it became the official national anthem of the United States. The New England Society provides access to its archival materials for scholarship and research purposes only. Reproduction and distribution of this document or any part thereof is prohibited without the written permission of the New England Society in the City of New York. New England Society in the City of New York 20 West 44th Street ▪ Suite 409 ▪ New York, NY 10036 Phone: (212) 752-1938 ▪ Fax: (212) 752-1969 ▪ Email: [email protected] ▪ Website: www.nesnyc.org .