Great Picture of USCT? Unit with Musicians

Claude Bauer

First Sergeant
Forum Host
Joined
Jan 8, 2012
USCT musicans fifer with a cheater.jpg


Someone posted a great picture of a USCT unit with musicians on Facebook today, but no identifying info. Anyone know who they are? Assuming they are USCT--they look well equipped.

I'm intrigued by the fact that the fifer on the far left has a "cheater" mouthpiece on his instrument. I've seen pictures of fifers on both sides holding instruments with these mouthpieces. They used them so musicians who hadn't developed an embouchure could learn the fingerings and play--developing an embouchure is the most difficult hurdle to overcome when learning how to play the fife. I have one I use for demo purposes at living history events. It muffles the sound considerably. Sounds more like a loud tin whistle than a fife. Also the cheaters made back then were made of lead! Reproduction cheaters are made of pewter, but are no longer available.
 
Last edited:
View attachment 98117

Someone posted a great picture of a USCT unit with musicians on Facebook today, but no identifying info. Anyone know who they are? Assuming they are USCT--they look well equipped.

I'm intrigued by the fact that the fifer on the far left has a "cheater" mouthpiece on his instrument. I've seen pictures of fifers on both sides holding instruments with these mouthpieces. They used them so musicians who hadn't developed an embouchure could learn the fingerings and play--developing an embouchure is the most difficult hurdle to overcome when learning how to play the fife. I have one I use for demo purposes at living history events. They don't make them anymore. It muffles the sound considerably. Sounds more like a loud tin whistle than a fife.

Claude,

I've never ever seen this photograph. It's a triple-tre cool find. I've put an inquiry out to the USCT community. I'll certainly let you know if I get any information.

-Yulie
 
Last edited:
I love this photo - thanks for sharing! Especially neat since I found an enlistment record for a USCT soldier from my area today who was a musician. Too bad we don't know where they are from. Tina
 
At the link below is the image with the names and regiments written above each man, and an incredible amount of research. They're not all from one unit.

From http://blogs.lib.ku.edu/spencer/tag/charles-joyce/

African American Union soldiers from L’Ouverture Hospital, in Alexandria, Virginia,
probably taken between early December 1864 to early April 1865. The men – a corporal,
eight infantryman, a drummer, and a fifer – appear to have been arrayed as an
Honor Escort for a deceased private. From left to right they are Tobias “Toby” Trout,
William DeGraff, John H. Johnson, Jerry Lyles (or Lisle), Leander Brown, Samuel Bond,
Robert Deyo, Adolphus Harp, Stephen Vance, George H. Smith, Adam Bentley, and
Reverend Chauncey Leonard.
 
At the link below is the image with the names and regiments written above each man, and an incredible amount of research. They're not all from one unit.

From http://blogs.lib.ku.edu/spencer/tag/charles-joyce/

Wonderful...wonderful. I repeat Alan's applaud of "You the man!"

I can stop looking for the source and proceed onto finding life histories of these men. I love doing this and it's not often that I have a face to go with the histories I find.

It confirms my belief that archivist are doing appraisals and preparing for digitization and finding all sort of missed and uncategorized things. In the case, the photograph was sold at auction to Charles Joyce.

-Yulie
 
Last edited:
RG_2.6_Chancellor-Snow-photograph_undated.jpg


Francis Snow, professor and Chancellor of University of Kansas. Served with the U.S. Christian Commission during the Civil War.

Excerpt from Charles Joyce, Guest Blogger and Spencer Researcher, "Inside Spencer: The KSRL Blog," January 20, 2016

[Francis] Snow’s interest in and empathy with the black population of Alexandria, which had swelled during the war years, was also manifest in other, less official duties, like teaching a Sunday School class of black children. Indeed, when his tour with the Commission ended in early September, Snow “found it hard to get away” from those men, women, and children. He gave the Reverend Leonard $20 to “lay out for the boys” at L’Ouverture.

Sometime thereafter, probably toward the end of 1864, an unknown artist took a photograph of Leonard with a group of black soldiers who were convalescing from war wounds and sickness at L’Ouverture. Someone sent a copy of the image to Francis Snow; he carefully wrote down each man’s name in the margins of the image and kept it all of his life. The photograph was found in a box in Snow’s personal library some 145 years later, and I purchased it in an online auction. More research on the soldiers in the photograph led to the holdings of the Spencer Library, including Snow’s original diary and Christian Commission journals. More on that in the next entry…

The "next entry" was the blog which JBW provided the link to. Charles Joyce is an attorney residing in Philadelphia, Penn.

-Yulie
 
View attachment 98117

Someone posted a great picture of a USCT unit with musicians on Facebook today, but no identifying info. Anyone know who they are? Assuming they are USCT--they look well equipped.

I'm intrigued by the fact that the fifer on the far left has a "cheater" mouthpiece on his instrument. I've seen pictures of fifers on both sides holding instruments with these mouthpieces. They used them so musicians who hadn't developed an embouchure could learn the fingerings and play--developing an embouchure is the most difficult hurdle to overcome when learning how to play the fife. I have one I use for demo purposes at living history events. It muffles the sound considerably. Sounds more like a loud tin whistle than a fife. Also the cheaters made back then were made of lead! Reproduction cheaters are made of pewter, but are no longer available.

What Facebook page was this taken from?

- Alan
 
Back
Top