§ Message № hold-the-fort · Union Lens

Hold the Fort.

Hold the fort, for I am coming.

Philip Bliss · 1870

Hold the Fort., Quorum

An old hymn, a labor anthem.

Philip Bliss wrote "Hold the Fort" as a hymn in 1870. The labor movement adopted it, and it became a song of holding the line, of keeping your position until help arrives. "Hold the fort" is its instruction, plainly given.

Why it belongs in Union.

The Union lens carries the songs and slogans of the labor tradition. "Hold the Fort" is one of the oldest, a public-domain hymn turned into a message about endurance and mutual support, the union holding together under pressure.

How we set it.

Archivo Narrow declarative, "Fort" carried into the Fraunces italic on the Union-brick ground. The accent on the thing being held.