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In December 1861,  while singing with his family,  John felt he had a call to go to Washington.  He turned the team over to them and started on his way.  He could be quite impulsive.

John quickly saw good opportunities for giving concerts.  He sent for his children,  and secured the vocal services of Frank Martin,  a bass.  Their engagements began around December 20.

On January 7, 1862, after a concert at Georgetown, the Hutchinsons were driven to a White House levee.  President Lincoln recognized John and asked if he would stay, after the main crowd had gone, and sing for some specially invited guests.  When their time came, the Hutchinsons sang a temperance song, "The War Drums Are Beating."  Now, the key which was needed to unlock the White House piano could not be found.  Then the piano proved to be out of tune.  So when Lincoln requested  "The Ship on Fire,"  John sent for his melodeon.  The people who were crowded into the Red Parlor warmly applauded the group's efforts.   "I was only a young girl at that time,"  said Viola,  "but I shall never forget how the noble simplicity of Mr. Lincoln impressed me as he stood beside his dear wife, with his boy, Tad, directly in front of us. . . . "   President Lincoln thanked the Hutchinsons for their singing and asked them to come again.

"I was greatly favored by Mrs. Lincoln's graciousness, and kindliness of heart,"  said Viola,  "in frequently sending (by the hand of her faithful tire woman, Elizabeth Keckley, a 'former slave' who enjoyed her confidence) bouquets to the little lady who had sung for them so sweetly."

Soon after arriving in Washington, John spoke with Chaplain Robert B. Yard of the 1st New Jersey Regiment about singing in the army camps.  On January 14, John received a permit from Secretary of War Simon Cameron to pass within the main lines of the Army of the Potomac and sing to the soldiers.

On January 17, the Hutchinsons crossed a carefully guarded bridge over the Potomac into Virginia.  That evening they gave the first concert of the series at the magnificent church on the elegant grounds of the Fairfax Seminary.  "The First New Jersey Regiment,"  said John,  "was to hear us on this first evening.  Another New Jersey regiment had expected to hear us in the afternoon, and many of its members therefore came to the evening concert.  The result was a very large crowd, soldiers sitting on the floor in the aisles, and standing in the rear of the pews and around the walls.  It was an enthusiastic and largely sympathetic audience, and the programme went off splendidly, until we sung the famous hymn by John G. Whittier. . . . "

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This  "hymn"  was,  in  fact,  "The  Furnace  Blast."

"Of course,"  allowed John,  "we were aware that the army of the Union did not entirely consist of Abolitionists."  After this,  the third verse,

A period of confusion followed  -  something not entirely unknown at Hutchinson Family concerts.  "We at once bethought ourselves of our old expedient,"  added John,  "and soon the soldier boys were melted to tears by the beautiful song, 'No Tear in Heaven.'"

After the concert, when the Hutchinsons were in their lodgings, they could hear loud talking from the quarters nearby.  Soon they were joined by General Birney and others who were in sympathy with them, and the vocalists sang their songs of freedom.  "We felt that we had done nothing wrong,"  said John,  "and our consciences were clear."  Though the hour was late, the group sang as long as their listeners wished.

The next day, Chaplain Yard told the Hutchinsons that their singing had caused great excitement in the camp.  He and John were called before General Philip Kearny, who scolded them.

"General,"  said John,  "I have a permit from the Secretary of War to sing.  We are no strangers to the soldiers, many thousands of whom know and have heard us  -  whatever the officers may think and feel on the subject."

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"I rule supreme here,"  snapped General Kearny.   "You are Abolitionists;  I think as much of a Rebel as I do of an Abolitionist."

A little later, instructions came, by order of Brigadier General William B. Franklin, that copies of the songs sung by the Hutchinsons were to be sent to headquarters.  John dutifully wrote out the lyrics to all the songs included in the concert.  General Franklin asked Chaplain Yard to point out the objectionable piece.  He read  "The Furnace Blast,"  and then said,  "I pronounce that incendiary; if these people are allowed to go on, they will demoralize the army."

"Late in the evening,"  said John,  "General Franklin issued another order, evidently by instructions from General McClellan, who paused in his hot pursuit of means to carry out the country's mandate 'On to Richmond!' to consider our innocent exhibition of treasonable propensities."  The Hutchinsons' pass to entertain the soldiers of the Army of the Potomac was rescinded.

Citing the late hour, John requested permission to stay in camp another day or two.  "There is no objection to these people staying until Monday morning,"  answered General Franklin,  "if they behave themselves properly."

On Sunday, Chaplain Yard got permission from General Kearny to use the chapel and bring in a choir.  The  "choir,"  it turned out, consisted of John, Henry, and Viola Hutchinson, with Frank Martin.  "The request,"  said John,  "was the result of an effort to give soldiers who had been disappointed a chance to hear us sing."  That evening Chaplain James B. Merwin gave a temperance lecture and the Hutchinsons sang songs of similar character.  "The next day,"  said John,  "my daughter Viola received a twenty-dollar gold-piece sent her by the soldiers."

Back in Washington,  John gave a copy of  "The Furnace Blast"  to Salmon P. Chase,  who presented it at a meeting of the Lincoln cabinet.  Sometime later,  the two met at the Treasury Department.

These times were strange, indeed.  After returning to Washington from Alexandria, John's company sang for members of General McClellan's bodyguard, privately, at their invitation.  They bought tickets to an upcoming concert, which they then attended at a nearby church.  The Hutchinsons sang their antislavery sentiments at this show; but the pastor forbid them to use the building again, for fear that such songs might upset members of his congregation.

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John was always delighted to be in Washington,  but it was an exciting time for his children,  too.   Viola remembered:

Asa's company was on tour, too.   They were now a quintet,  "Little Dennett"  having joined the band.  Their ads for an upcoming series of concerts in the New York area listed  "The Furnace Blast"  first,  among their  "new songs of Freedom and Fraternity, and the Flag of Our Union Forever."  After entertainments in Brooklyn, Newark, and Dodworth's Hall in New York, Asa's company planned a concert at the Church of the Puritans.  Evidently  "The Furnace Blast"  -  "now interdicted on the Banks of the Potomac"  -  was the only song they needed to mention in their advertisements.  Shows followed in New York, Williamsburgh, and other cities nearby.

Amidst this series of entertainments, the Hutchinsons sang at a lecture given by friend Frederick Douglass, in which he said that tens of thousands of American citizens were then taking their first lessons in antislavery.  Later in the program, the Hutchinson Family  "sang the song of John G. Whittier, 'pronounced incendiary by a Pro-Slavery General.'  The audience applauded every verse as it was rendered with thrilling effect."  The crowd responded further with calls for the John Brown song,  "which was sung amid much applause."

Asa's concert programs went through a considerable change over the next several months.  Not long after this time,  "The Battle Cry of Freedom"  began appearing often in advertising for his company.  Though the Hutchinson Family did not compose, publish, or introduce this song, it was one of the greatest hits in their concerts;  and they did much to popularize it.

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The Civil War was a terrible period in American history,  tearing the country apart and taking huge numbers of young lives.  Yet in some ways,  this must have been a fantastic time to be Asa B. Hutchinson.  He and his company were enjoying great success, and surely he could feel the glorious jubilee on its way.  Asa could take much pride in having helped smooth the path for emancipation by singing antislavery to any and all audiences night after night.

John's company visited Philadelphia, where they opened a new hall and gave a series of concerts.  As "The Furnace Blast" had been a much-anticipated song on Asa's programs in New York, so it was John's big number in Philadelphia.

Next they went to Boston for some engagements,  but for another reason, as well.  On  Monday, February 17, 1862,  Judson Whittier Hutchinson  was born to John and Fanny.  Judson's health was never good,  but this would not stop John from pressing him into service from time to time as a singer.

Later,  John's group started a tour leading to the town of Hutchinson.   They went through  Pittsburgh, then Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, and into Minnesota,  giving concerts along the way.  During August,  they spent about a week in Hutchinson.  The town seemed prosperous; yet evidently Brother John saw signs of Indian unrest, and he warned the townspeople of a possible attack.

About this time, Asa's company, too, was on its way to Hutchinson.   They drove a carryall from Boston across the Northern states and into Canada, giving concerts at various stops along their route.  This was a special tour for Dennett.  He saw for the first time the town named after his family.

In the middle of August, fighting broke out in parts of Minnesota between the Sioux and the settlers.  Battles took place near Yellow Medicine on the 18th and at New Ulm on the 21st and 23rd.  Fighting followed at scattered locations; and early in September a band of Indians at Cedar City drove a company of volunteers toward Hutchinson.  Nearby houses were destroyed; and then the town itself was burned on September 4, only a couple dwellings being spared.  John and Asa and their families were in no danger, having gone back to singing well before this.  Major General John Pope took command of the defense of the settlers, and the final battle took place at Wood Lake on the 22nd.  Little Crow, the leader of the Minnesota Sioux, escaped  -  only to be killed on July 3, 1863.

"The attack upon Hutchinson,"  said John,  "seriously retarded the growth of the town.  Many went away, and when I chanced into the place some months later it seemed to me the property was practically worthless."

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"The Prohibited Song on the Potomac"  was still a prominent part of Asa's concert programs; and by the time his family had returned to New England, they were singing another great new song.  "Kingdom Coming"  was written in dialect by Henry Clay Work.  One feature that made it unlike the stereotypical minstrel tune is that the slaveholder is the comic character.

"Kingdom Coming"  became a regular part of the concert programs of Asa's company.  Their tours through a broad geographic area,  along with their frequent concert stops,  must have contributed tremendously to the widespread popularity of this outstanding song.

On January 1, 1863,  Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared an end to slavery in the sections of the country that were at war against the Union.  John was in northern New York State at the time.  More than forty years later,  he wrote:  "At last the sky was clear. . . . "

During this time of jubilation the Hutchinson Family was paid many tributes.   Brother Joshua wrote:

We can only imagine Asa's sense of triumph, as he led his concert company from Pennsylvania and nearby parts of New Jersey on the leg of a tour that led to the city of Washington and back.

On  Sunday, March 13, 1863,  Jennie Lind Hutchinson,  the youngest daughter of Judson and Jerusha, died of typhoid fever.  We are told surprisingly little of her life, though we know she sang at times with her father's company.  Jerusha sold her house not much later, perhaps to move into smaller quarters.

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John's group began a series of concerts around New York.   Advertisements for their Cooper Institute appearance on April 16,  said:

Then on  Monday afternoon, April 20, 1863,  an immense Union rally was held in and around Madison Square.  John's family sang  "The Battle Cry of Freedom"  and  "Glory Hallelujah"  to an estimated crowd of 50,000.   The New York Times called this event the "largest popular gathering ever held in this City."

After  the  May  anniversaries,   illness  struck.

Fanny  and  the  children  went  to  Mont  Vernon,  New  Hampshire.

Meanwhile,  John traveled to  Morristown, New Jersey,  for a successful trial concert in partnership with harpist Jack Whitcomb.  The two subsequently went to Boston and then to Portland, and proceeded up the line of the Maine Central Railroad, giving concerts at stops all along the way.  "The young man would play the harp,"  said John,  "and I played my violin, the programme of songs being thus pleasantly varied."