"God of Our Fathers" is a 19th-century American Christian hymn, written in 1876 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence.
[1] The hymn was written by Daniel C. Roberts,[2] a priest in the Protestant Episcopal Church serving, at the time, as rector of St. Thomas & Grace Episcopal churches in Brandon, Vermont.
Roberts had served in the American Civil War in the 84th Ohio Infantry.
The hymnal editor and organist George W. Warren were to choose a hymn for the celebration of the Centennial of the United States Constitution.
They chose Roberts's lyrics, which were originally sung to a tune called "Russian Hymn."
Warren wrote a new tune called "National Hymn.