“Willie My Brave” was submitted for copyright on October 21, 1851. An arrangement with guitar accompaniment was submitted for copyright on August 23, 1853, by Firth, Pond & Co.

According to Evelyn Foster Mornweck’s The Chronicles of Stephen Foster’s Family:

In 1851, after the publication of “Oh! Boys, Carry Me ’Long,” Stephen produced “My Hopes Have Departed Forever,” “Laura Lee,” “Old Folks at Home,” a translation of Franz Abt’s “In the Eye Abides the Heart” with the melody arranged by Henry Kleber, “Eulalie,” “Farewell, My Lilly Dear,” and “Willie, My Brave” which was dedicated to Mrs. A. L. Robinson.