The Vigilantes was a twentieth century American publishing syndicate

Syndicate

A syndicate is a self-organizing group of individuals, companies or entities formed to transact some specific business, or to promote a common interest or in the case of criminals, to engage in organized crime...

. Their pamphlets and newspapers were distributed with the intention of inspiring patriotism and Allied

Allies

In everyday English usage, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out between them...

 involvement in World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. The membership was largely composed of men, who dominated its leadership, though much of the content was produced by women and appeared pseudonymously as the work of "the Vigilantes". A contemporary review noted the "breathless cries of song wrung mostly from the hearts of our women.

The preface to a poetry anthology, published as Vigilantes Books: Fifes And Drums: A Collection of Poems of America at War, gave the following remarks on the authors' works:

These poems, written under the immediate stress of great events by those who have banded themselves together under the name of The Vigilantes, furnish a striking record of the emotional reactions of the American people during the fortnight preceding and the six weeks following the declaration of war....