Brass Band of the 16th Mississippi Infantry

Tom Elmore

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Jan 16, 2015
The 16th Mississippi brought a fine brass band to the war. In August 1861, the band led the regiment through the streets of Lynchburg, Virginia, eliciting admiration from the local citizens. During the June 1863 invasion of Pennsylvania, the band was called upon to precede the regiment as it marched through towns in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. On June 23, Sergeant James J. Kirkpatrick wrote in his diary: "Passed through Charlestown making our usual display - banners flying, bands playing, and arms at right shoulder shift." On September 11, 1863, the band was one of 17 that played during a formal review of A. P. Hill's Third Corps. General Robert E. Lee was an advocate, having reportedly said, "I don't believe we can have an army without music." A brass band had the effect of enlivening and cheering up foot-weary soldiers on a tedious march. BGen William "Extra Billy" Smith often referred to his Virginia brigade band as "those tooting fellows."

The type of instruments carried by the band are not known, but a rival band from the 26th North Carolina carried an E-flat cornet, B-flat cornet, alto horn, tenor horn, baritone horn, and B-flat bass horn. A cymbal might also be included. On occasion such bands might be supplemented by the regimental drummers. Some of the brass instruments were "over-the-shoulder," directing the sound backwards, which was helpful when the band marched at the head of a column.

The band of the 1st North Carolina Sharpshooters had at one time fourteen band members, including the Chief Musician (band leader). A review of the Compiled Service Records for mid-1863 indicates that the 16th Mississippi's brass band comprised ten musicians during that period, as follows:
(Chief Musician) William H. Hartwell (Company I)
Aaron Eichel (Company G)
Granvill G. Elliotte (Company K)
Philip J. Frederick (Company E)
Charles H. Fry (Company E)
Gabriel Kann (Company K)
James Murray (Company I)
Charles B. Potts (Company C)
Norvall Slay (Company C)
Cicero J. Wev (Company C).
 
Band of the 26th North Carolina.

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Other music was available in the 16th Mississippi. In the winter of 1862, just prior to the battle of Fredericksburg, Private David Holt of Company K wrote that his company had one violinist and five fiddlers in camp who played at makeshift dances: "We made use of them by inaugurating dances, such as the cotillion and Virginia reel. Owing to ladies not being present anywhere about, men substituted and were so designated by having a handkerchief tied around their arms. With a big bonfire at each end of the company street we used the space between for our dance hall. Most of the lads joined in although there were several who declined on account of religious views. But they constituted an attentive audience." (A Mississippi Rebel in the Army of Northern Virginia, The Civil War Memoirs of Private David Holt, ed. by Thomas D. Cockrell and Michael B. Ballard, Louisiana State Press, 1995, p. 140)
 
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