In 1752, Christopher Smart was slowly dragged into a large "paper war" that involved many of London's writers. After the publication of "Poems on Several Occasions", including "The Hop-Garden", in June 1752, John Hill launched a major attack upon Smart's poetry. Smart responded with his mock-epic, "The Hilliad". Before the release of Smart's poem, Hill was engaged in a large literary battle between various members of Grub Street's and London's writing community, especially Henry Fielding. This battle may have been for publicity only and lasted over many months before Smart involved himself. However, even with such a late entry, his "Hilliad" was the "loudest broadside" of the war.