Cavalry Buglers

TheRealMrHoward

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Jun 9, 2021
I have two questions about cavalry buglers in ACW.

1. Did they carry carbines?

2. Was there a bugler for every company, or just one for the regiment? In Mcclellan's cavalry manual, it shows the regimental bugler, but not any other buglers.

Thanks!
 
It doesnt appear that this question was ever answered. I am also curious if buglers also engaged in combat regularly or only fired in cases of emergency. It would seem logical that the bugler would carry a rifle and would engage in combat, even though his main duty was to sound the bugle calls
 
I don't believe that cavalry buglers carried carbines. Their duty was to pay attention to their officers and relay their orders via bugle calls. An officer did not want his bugler distracted when a crucial call had to be given. I have seen no period photos or illustrations showing buglers carrying carbines. They did carry pistols and sabers in case they became involved in close combat.
 
If I remember correctly, cavalry and artillery buglers were equipped as mounted troops including side arms. As their job was blow their horn and not shooting people, they weren’t issued long arms.
If I recall correctly during the war there were at least one bugler per company.
 
It doesnt appear that this question was ever answered. I am also curious if buglers also engaged in combat regularly or only fired in cases of emergency. It would seem logical that the bugler would carry a rifle and would engage in combat, even though his main duty was to sound the bugle calls
Welcome, enjoy
 
Wouldn't the bugler be back with the general commanding? No need for defensive weapons other than a sidearm.

Did everyone become familiar with the calls? Maybe they should have practices along with the drills.

Bugle calls

There was a sergeant in charge of us "number fours," and he was as cool as any fellow I ever saw. The sergeant was a nice man, but he was no musician. He was an Irishman, also, and when any bugle-call sounded he had to ask some one what it was. There was a great deal of uncertainty about bugle-calls, I noticed, among officers as well as men.
Of course it could not be expected that every man in a cavalry regiment would be a music teacher, and the calls sounded so much alike to the uncultivated ear, that it was no wonder that everybody got the calls mixed. In camp we got so we could tell "assembly," and 'surgeon's call," and "tattoo," and quite a number of others, but the calls of battle were Greek to us. The bugle sounded down in the woods, and the sergeant turned to me and asked, "Fhat the divil is that I dunno?" I was satisfied it was "To horse," but when I saw our fellows come rushing back towards the horses it looked as though the order was to fall back, and I suggested as much to the sergeant.

The sergeant ordered retreat, and Mr. Peck and his horses took off at great speed, even though the approaching men were calling for them to stop. Of course, he gets into trouble for this, which he relates at length humorously.

How Private Geo. W. Peck Put Down the Rebellion, or the Funny Experiences of a Raw Recruit
George W. Peck, 1890, 4 WI I/C
 
Wouldn't the bugler be back with the general commanding? No need for defensive weapons other than a sidearm.

Did everyone become familiar with the calls? Maybe they should have practices along with the drills.

Bugle calls

There was a sergeant in charge of us "number fours," and he was as cool as any fellow I ever saw. The sergeant was a nice man, but he was no musician. He was an Irishman, also, and when any bugle-call sounded he had to ask some one what it was. There was a great deal of uncertainty about bugle-calls, I noticed, among officers as well as men.
Of course it could not be expected that every man in a cavalry regiment would be a music teacher, and the calls sounded so much alike to the uncultivated ear, that it was no wonder that everybody got the calls mixed. In camp we got so we could tell "assembly," and 'surgeon's call," and "tattoo," and quite a number of others, but the calls of battle were Greek to us. The bugle sounded down in the woods, and the sergeant turned to me and asked, "Fhat the divil is that I dunno?" I was satisfied it was "To horse," but when I saw our fellows come rushing back towards the horses it looked as though the order was to fall back, and I suggested as much to the sergeant.

The sergeant ordered retreat, and Mr. Peck and his horses took off at great speed, even though the approaching men were calling for them to stop. Of course, he gets into trouble for this, which he relates at length humorously.

How Private Geo. W. Peck Put Down the Rebellion, or the Funny Experiences of a Raw Recruit
George W. Peck, 1890, 4 WI I/C
Counterpoint, according to John Billing eventually even the horse knew what bugle calls by memory. I’ll add the exact quote later.

You may want to add quotation marks to the quote you have there.
 
The bugler/trumpeter was the signalman/radio operator of his day. There will have been one per company. They relayed the company commanders orders to the rest of the company. They also received the instructions from the regiment commander's bugler and repeated it to the company after confirming with the company commander. It was their job to keep an ear out for the regimental orders and also for the company commander's orders. They would have been armed with a sword and pistol, but unlikely to have a carbine as the the cavalry trumpet was much larger than the infantry bugle with a different tone to distinguish it from the infantry bugle.

He would have stayed near the company commander who was traditionally behind the company in action (the platoon commanders led into action) so would not need the carbine. Sword and pistol was for self-defence as he was often the target for any counter-attacking cavalry in the heat of battle
 
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