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NUMBER 9 Although Howard recalled in 1899 that Whittle "stood beside General Sherman as my representative on the top of Kennesaw" during the signaling to Corse at Allatoona, he could have been mistaken, for Whittle did not claim in his published life of Bliss that he himself was there. He was probably in the vicinity of Kennesaw on 5 October at Howard's headquarters near Marietta (hard by the mountain), where he was the assistant provost marshal. In his account of the engagement, Whittle was wrong not only about the message signaled, which is not surprising, but, as any old soldier might have done, he understated the Union strength at Allatoona, putting it at "about 1,500 men" as against the 1,944 claimed by Corse (who was comparatively accurate), and overstated the Confederate strength, giving the Rebels 6,000 men rather than the 3,276 that they claimed. Historical truth, however, was of little moment in an epic tale with a point about The Eternal Verity.

Whatever its imperfections, Whittle's account so inspired Bliss that he wrote "Hold the Fort" and dedicated it to the major. According to Whittle, Bliss wrote the song in Whittle's Chicago home at 43 South May Street, where Bliss and his wife moved in order to be near the First Congregational Church, of which Bliss became the choirmaster in July 1870. Ira D. Sankey, another of Bliss's friends, said that the day following the convention Bliss and Whittle conducted a meeting in the Chicago Y.M.C.A., where Bliss wrote the words of the chorus on a blackboard and sang the song for the first time, with the audience joining him in the chorus.

"Hold the Fort" was first published in 1870 as sheet music by the famous Chicago firm of Root & Cady. Both at home and abroad people soon were singing: