Lyrics written by John Newton in 1772 and published in 1779. The tune existed in 2 variants, "Gallaher" and "St. Mary's", both published in the winter of 1829/30 by Charles Spilman & Benjamin Shaw in the book "Columbian Harmony" in Cincinnati, Ohio. William Walker combined the tune and text in 1835 and published it as "New Britain" in the hymnbook "Southern Harmony" in 1847.