A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE 
1ST BRIGADE BAND

Early Band
3d Wisconsin Band
1st Brigade Band
Postwar

BRODHEAD'S BAND

No one in little Freeport ever imagined that by 2 pm. 15,000 pairs of ears would be on hand to hear this historic verbal joust.  Punctuating this nearly three hour duel was a small group of approximately 14 men holding musical instruments.  They were the Brodhead Brass Band, hired to play tunes that both entertained the crowd and punctuated important points of both speakers.  They had arrived in Freeport the day before in a bandwagon that was built especially for them by the Spencer Wagon shop of Brodhead, Wisconsin.  Pulled by a magnificent set of six matched horses, the wagon had no problem carrying the band, their baggage, and of course, their instruments to what was clearly a prestigious, and most important, paying engagement!

(From the Brodhead Weekly Reporter, September 2, 1859)

The "B.B.B.", as it was known, was typical for a town band of the day.  While they sported brass instruments, they were almost totally lacking in any formal music training and were largely self taught.  The men also lacked band uniforms but with the temperature soaring near the century mark, no one seemed to care.  The Brodhead Brass Band was pleasing one and all!  The music, unlike the speakers, could be heard clearly by nearly everyone assembled.  It was indeed amazing that such a novice group could produce a variety of tunes that included polkas, waltzes, and popular tunes of the day and, of course, patriotic airs.

They brought to Illinois a new set of brass instruments that included tuba, baritone & tenor horns, Eb alto, Bb and Eb cornets as well as percussion.  The performances were like the country itself: crude, roughhewn, loud and brassy, full of life and vigor!  The event was an early milestone for this rising band.

Edwin Oscar Kimberly

A TIN BAND

George T. Spaulding

Ten young men were willing, though untrained, to give it a go.  They were E.O.Kimberly, J.B.Taft, C.W. Clinton, Jack Laird, John Laird, Tom Laird, George T. Spaulding, Charlie Stone, John Overbaugh and Robert McLaven.  Hemp Stone (Charlie's father) volunteered to drive the rough farm wagon that would serve as band wagon until a proper one could be built.

The first band was known as the Brodhead Tin Band: named so for the cheap starter set of tin instruments they began with.  There were ten players struggling to build the Tin Band when they received their first invitation to play outside of Brodhead.  It came from the city of Beloit, Wisconsin, to play for a political rally and picnic that would host a large crowd and over a half a dozen area bands.  Ready or not, the boys accepted the invitation and bravely faced the crowd with its brand new three-piece repertoire.  The Tin Band was given the honor of leading the immense procession through town and out to the park where they were hailed as the best band and given the keys to the city.  Everything was free.  A tradition of excellence had been born!
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MUSIC GOES TO WAR
"HAMILTON'S BADGER BOYS"

"I should have wrote you sooner but we have been waiting for our instruments and I thought I would not write until we got them, which came last night, these being 24 instruments, a splendid set, with bell over the shoulder [brass], with the exception of one Eb which is silver, a fine one, which the leader has given to me; we shall soon make fine music.."

The 19^th century term for taking the train was "riding the cars."  The 3d Wisconsin did just that a few days later, heading for Washington.  The word was that the army would soon move against the rebels and it seemed that the boys of the 3d would not miss out on the offensive that would surely end the war.  Upon their arrival they were astonished to find that they were to be diverted to Camp Pinckney in Maryland for further training and garrison duty and were not to be joining General McDowell's forces moving on to Richmond.

Like most volunteers on both sides, these young lads were full of themselves; any one of ours could lick ten of theirs. Badger bravura had completely spread through the camps of the 3d Wisconsin with a boundless pride in their country, state, regiment and their commanding officer, Col. Charles Hamilton.

Hamilton was a rising star in the Badger state political firmament.  Ever popular with his men and cheered wherever he went, the man was loved and respected as few officers were and Edwin Oscar Kimberly was determined to do something about that.  He composed a song entitled "Hamilton's Badger Boys".  It was a tune filled with the politics, sentiment, and fervor of the times.  Lyrics include: "We're Hamilton's Badger Boys, and hither we've come from woody Wisconsin, our dearly loved home.  To fight for the Union - to conquer or die!  And to raise in the foe land our wild battle cry."; with references to Governor Alexander Randall's speech to the regiment at Camp Hamilton in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin:  "Our Governor equipped us and told us to go and flail out the Union's most treacherous foe. To pound him right hard on God's threshing floor - and not to return 'till rebellion was o'er."  It was sung to rousing cheers by Kimberly and others for the colonel in their Maryland camp on July 22^nd 1861, the day after Bull Run.  The music also makes mention of their "stern ranks of grey" - the first five Wisconsin regiments were uniformed in grey at the war's start (soon remedied).  The music was not published until 1899 .

Sheet music donated by 
Greg D. Rupnow, 2d Wisconsin, Co. K

The "short 90 day war of glory" ceased to exist on July 21^st with the Union defeat at Bull Run.  Both sides settled in for the coming fall and winter to regroup and build up for the next round of fighting that would surely come in the spring.  The 3d Wisconsin found itself under the overall command of General Nathaniel P. Banks.  The men of the 3d were to be part of a gathering army that would move against the Shenandoah Valley, breadbasket of the South.  While the nature of the war began to change, so did the musical volunteers from Brodhead.

By September of 1861 the band began to experience problems that were typical for units remaining in the field.  Leadership was a major problem for the musicians of the 3d Wisconsin.  The original leader proved incompetent and was relieved.  Kimberly, recognized for both his musical and leadership abilities, was appointed band leader.  The term "band leader" or "bandmaster" did not carry any rank in Civil War armies, however, as the local paper reported, it was still a considerable promotion.

"We are much gratified to learn that our former foreman, E. O. Kimberley, Esq., has been appointed leader of the Regimental Band, which secures him the pay of a 2d Lieut., $103, per month."
(Brodhead Independent - September 11, 1861)

Bandmaster Kimberly was proud of his appointment, but quickly found that with the honor came the headaches!  Oscar's war was proving to be of a very different nature than he bargained for.  His fight was NOT with the Confederate, army but rather with a never ending skirmish against constantly breaking instruments and thinning ranks. Disease, not minne' balls, thinned the ranks of the musicians.  On some days entire sections of the band reported sick making, no doubt, what must have been appalling omissions in the music.  Little imagination is required to think of "Yankee Doodle" or "Hail Columbia" without the melody!  Their ordeal was tragically a common one.  Throughout the war the camps of both sides suffered tremendously from wretched camp conditions brought on by poor hygiene, bad food and primitive medicine.  Shoddy camp conditions and decaying health were symptomatic of field armies in the 1860's and the band was clearly not alone in their suffering.  On the other hand a bandsman could be healthy and report for duty and still not make music from the disrepair of his instrument.  The horns that were issued by the state were quickly revealing themselves to be of exceedingly poor quality.  Even the old tin horns were better than these brass embarrassments.  The end result was the same: gaping holes in the music!

Just when it seemed things couldn't possibly get worse, they did!  In early spring 1862 General Banks began his long awaited move against the Valley.  He not only faced a determined rebel army in the Shenandoah, but also without a doubt the greatest fighter the Confederacy possessed in the entire war, Stonewall Jackson.  This Valley campaign of 1862 would go down in history as one of the most brilliant of the war!  Banks was completely outclassed by his grey adversary.  Almost from the start he was clueless as to the real danger he and his army were really in.  Jackson out-marched, out-fought and out-generaled his blue opponent at every turn.  Orderly battlefield retirement quickly became a panic as thousands of men threw away their equipment in a desperate bid to save their lives.  The 3d Wisconsin Regimental Band was quickly engulfed in the route and more than half the men lost their horns.  Once safe in union territory, Oscar struggled mightily to restore the band but it was no use.  Regimental funds for the band had completely dried up and with it any hope for replacement instruments.  In desperation, Kimberly spent $50 out of his own pocket for new music but to no avail.  The officers of the 3d decided to have no further efforts at music and had the men wait for their enlistments to expire.  On July 22^nd, exactly one year to the date after the premier of "Hamilton's Badger Boys" the band of the 3d Wisconsin Infantry was officially discharged.
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OFF TO WAR AGAIN!

"THE BRODHEAD BAND GOING TO THE WAR - For a long time efforts have been made to induce the band to enlist and go to the war as a Brigade Band.  Since their return from the army up to last week the boys "couldn't see it", and probably would have been as blind as Blind Andrew himself, but for the little 200,000 call.  Their intention is now to enlist from the Town of Decatur if they can get the $300 bounty; if not to go elsewhere, draw a big bounty and go in as a Brigade Band.  Brodhead will be quite lonely without them socially, while it will take from us some of our best business men and mechanics."
(Brodhead Independent, February 12, 1864)

"BOUNTY MONEY - This township voted to-day to raise $1,600 by tax in addition to $2000, heretofore voted, to pay volunteers.  We understand the band are to receive the bounty and 'off for the wars.'"
(Brodhead Independent, April, 29, 1864)

"...out of the ashes, Phoenix-like, has arisen a band of far more than shadowy existence, now numbering nineteen noble young men, including some from abroad, all of whom have enlisted for the war, and constitute the 1^st Brigade Band, assigned to the 3d Division, 15^th army corps, now at Huntsville, Ala., commanded by Logan....The band is supplied, at its own expense, with a magnificent set of silver instruments from the celebrated manufactory of D. C. Hall at Boston, costing in the aggregate of $870.30, and has been for several weeks perfecting by practice.  It is now "ordered off" and will take its leave for Alabama next Tuesday morning.  We reluctantly part company with "the Boys" but submit with a better grace, because we know that they are noble patriots, who will be eager to play the "Rogue's March" for Jeff and his fiendish associates in crime, they will give the trump no uncertain sound when required to strike the knell of the Confederacy, nor play with muffled drum or suppressed note, its funeral chant."
(Brodhead Independent, April 29, 1864)

"Under the direction of it's skilled leader, Mr. E. O. Kimberly, it gave several popular airs with marked excellence, winning applause."
(The Nashville Press, May 12, 1864)

Immediately upon their arrival in camp at Huntsville, Alabama they began to make music.

"Huntsville, Monday, May 16.....A band of twenty men arrived from Brodhead Wisconsin, last evening to be assigned to 1st Brigade, 3d Division, 15th Army Corps.  Early in the evening they opened in front of 12th Battery headquarters, formed a circle, and in the gentle twilight played numerous airs, patriotic and melancholy; the sweetest of all, "Home Sweet Home".  The green was covered with soldiers, lying at full length, dreamily enjoying the sweet music, forgetful of all the past, in blissful forgetfulness of all things real.  The instruments were of German silver, making a very good appearance.  May they serve us such a treat often." (Jenkin Lloyd Jones, Private, 6th Wisconsin Battery - An Artillaryman's Diary - pg. 210 )

Kimberly sent letters to both his mother and the home town paper.  In a letter to the Brodhead Independent dated May 19^th, he described life in Huntsville.

"Our duty consists of playing four pieces at 8 a.m. for guard mounting, devoting about two hours to practice in the fore noon and the same in the afternoon; and, by the way, we are improving finely. After supper, every evening, we play a few pieces in the court house park, a delightful place, after which there is usually some place in view to serenade; if not, we can find other amusement".

Towards the end of the month, the band found itself boarding a gunboat off on a reconnaissance of the Tennessee River.  The warship was about to round the bend to begin shelling a small rebel fort when Kimberly asked to have the band let ashore.  No one is quite sure who opened up on the fort first - the gunboat with its cannon, or the band blasting "Yankee Doodle" with its horns.  In any case the greybacks gave up the fort with the band continuing to taunt them with national airs as they retreated.

1864 was proving to be a vast improvement over 1861!  Good equipment, music and leadership had indeed given the boys a true sense of accomplishment not felt two years earlier.  There was however, one nemesis they could not shake and that was disease.  A letter to his mother dated August 17, expressed Oscar's concerns over the health of the bandsmen:

"I am afraid we shall loose Pomeroy and probably Brown.  Stone is worse and I think will be furloughed....[though maybe he] wasn't as sick as the others."

A few days later the band endured a hard march down the Etowah River in Georgia.  By August 30^th only eight players could be mustered for duty.  In spite of this, the 1^st Brigade Band maintained their standard of excellence.  Generals began to compete to acquire their services.  General Oliver Otis Howard wanted the band to continue to lead his Sunday worship services.  

"We continue to improve in playing slowly, and are looked upon as gentlemen and good musicians by the entire division!  General Smith is trying to get us at his headquarters, he thinks all the world of us.  I think if Brodhead could hear us play, or Janesville they would open their eyes." 
(Edwin Oscar Kimberly, to his mother, undated)

It was becoming clear that this was something more than a mere field band.

If war can be described as a contest of arms, then the 1^st Brigade Band became embroiled in a contest of instruments. A more apt description might be that they were engaged in "The Battle of 'Who Played'" .  From Cartersville, Georgia, Kimberley wrote the following on September 15^th, 1864.

"A circumstance took place in town last night certainly worthy of note.  We went down about sundown and about 8 o'clock began playing at Smith's headquarters.  General Smith then requested us to serenade a Michigan colonel.  We proceeded to the place, the General with us; after playing 3 or 4 pieces we left and went over to Dr. Winston's quarters; of the 1^st Wisconsin Cavalry, acting division surgeon.  The Doctor is from Evansville [Wis.] and some of our boys know him well.  After playing a piece there, another band struck up about 50 rods from us, which proved to be a band belonging to the regiment we had just left. [the 15^th Michigan Infantry]  They were a very fair band: they would play a piece and then we would.  After playing 3 or 4 pieces, we then played a new piece we had just learned, a fine thing; after finishing it ,they struck up with the same thing, which of course was considered an insult.  Our boys then swore they would run them out, determined to play the last piece, and the other band also made the same determination that they would play the last piece and run the d....d Badgers out.  Of course on such occasion both bands had been drinking pretty freely and were excited and maddened to no low pitch.  We kept on, as soon as they finished a piece we were ready to start in, playing every piece they did if we had it.  They sent a man over to see what we had to play and we had done the same.  Their colonel was with them and swore that he would hang the first men that gave out.  The whole affair was just like a hard contested battle.  At one o'clock we were still going at it, as quick as they would stop, we would start right in.  We were determined to play until 8 o'clock in the morning if necessary.  The Doctor said he would get us some breakfast.  Liquors were set out on a table for the boys to drink just when they had a mind to.  Both bands kept on until 3 o'clock: it was their turn to play but they failed to come out; we waited patiently.  Our spy came back and informed us they had given up.  We played "Yankee Doodle" double quick.  The boys shouted Victory!  We had whipped them and forced a retreat."

By this time another, more deadly battle had been fought and won.  Sherman had captured Atlanta and was making preparations for his next move.  Since a period of inactivity appeared at hand, Kimberly applied for and received a furlough for the entire band.  Oscar and his boys were home in time to enjoy Christmas with family and loved ones.  On January 4^th, 1865, the boys rode the cars again. This time they were headed east to New York City where they would take a steamer south to rejoin Sherman.  Before departing they took time to serenade a host of famous officers staying at various hotels.  Winfield Scott Hancock, Dan Butterfield, Dan Sickles and Franz Siegel were among the notables to hear the mellow sounds of the 1^st Brigade Band.  The New York Herald saw fit to devote several paragraphs describing the event.

On January 22^nd, the band marched off the gangplank of the coastal steamer at Savannah, Georgia, and into the famous March through the Carolinas.  William T. Sherman was taking his army north, through the Carolinas up to Richmond to link with General Grant and together end the war.  There had long been a feeling in the Union army that South Carolina was responsible for the war in as much as it was the first to secede and fire upon the Union.  It had been a hard war for these boys and they were in no mood to be charitable.  South Carolina would pay for its treason!  Southerners had long thought that even if the Yankees did get this far south they would be swallowed up whole by wilderness and impenetrable swamps.  Little did they reckon with the bluecoat's seasoned ability to improvise and build bridges on the move.  Instead of taking a year, it took Sherman only a month to march clean through the state.

It had proved to be the roughest march the band had yet encountered.  They struggled, often in waist deep swamps with rebel snipers ever lurking about in the moss and cypress trees; playing in New York seemed a distant dream.  On February 17^th Columbia, the capitol of South Carolina, fell to federal forces.  The city was set a fire, probably by the  retreating Confederates.  As it burned, the 1^st Brigade Band was one of 12 bands gathered to play at what one player described as "full blast."  They all struck up together The Anvil Chorus from Verdi's opera "Il Trovatore".

The army continued it's march out of the Palmetto State and into North Carolina.  By early April they had a bit of a rest in the vicinity of Goldsboro.  In a letter of April 7^th, 1865, Kimberly described what must have been the proudest moment of his life:

"Last night, according to previous notice, we repaired to Sherman's headquarters for a serenade.  A new song, composed by prisoners [Lt. H. S. M. Byers of Iowa, who wrote the song while a prisoner of war in Charleston, S.C.] is in my possession, entitled When Sherman Marched Down to the Sea.  After some rehearsing, I was the first one to sing it before our old hero, Billy T. [Sherman] and his entire staff, after which I sang another and rec'd a very high compliment from Sherman.  After playing several pieces the crack band of the army made it's appearance, namely the 33d Massachusetts and played several pieces.  After all this we played another piece and returned to camp, assured we had done honor to ourselves at least.  After getting in camp our Brigadier [Clark] came with a compliment from Sherman to our band, stating we were the model band of his entire army.  This, said by a Gen'l of such wide world renown is certainly a big thing!-a great feather in our caps.  The Massachusetts Band spoken of has always had the name of being the best band in Sherman's Army - pronounced by Sherman himself at Savannah.  Not wishing to boast I will say of ourselves - we are not afraid of any Band in this Dept. of Tennessee or Georgia.  During the campaign we done considerable playing and [were] spoken of very highly as good players and a band of gentlemen.  We have strived to live up to and merit a continuance of that good name."

April saw Oscar's proudest moment as well as the end of the war.  It was decided to hold a victory parade in Washington with as many soldiers as possible.  The Grand Review would be held as a split affair starting with Grant and Meade's Army of the Potomac followed the next day with Sherman's Army of the Tennessee.  George T. Spaulding , tenor horn player in the 1^st Brigade Band, wrote to his wife in Brodhead:

Fidelia S. Spaulding

"May 24th, 1865;  We had a splendid day for the review, were on the move at daylight and moved for capitol hill at 9 o'clock and passed the reviewing stand at 10 o'clock where were the big heads of the nation.  Everything passed off finely.  After we had played through the city we fell out and went back to Penn Avenue and saw the balance of the army pass.  We were spoken of in high terms by the reporter of the review.  You no doubt may see it in the papers.  We were the only band mentioned among the many, perhaps on account of the brightness of our instruments.  It said the band of the 15th corps attracted much attention on account of neatness of dress, brightness of instruments and the fine music discoursed.  So much for us.  We played the whole length of Penn Avenue.  We rec'd several fine bouquets."

The band spent a short time in Kentucky filling out it's term of enlistment.  Here it was known eventually, on paper at least, as the 2^nd Brigade Band, 4^th Division.  The name never took hold.  They soon returned to Brodhead in triumph and with respect, though history was not quite finished with Mr. Kimberly's band.
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EPILOGUE

Post war life took it's toll on the band, scattering the original members all over the country.  Kimberley and Smith were two who emigrated west to the new territories, though reunions were held and players kept in touch.  New players filled the vacant ranks and for many years the people of Brodhead took pride and enjoyment from their music makers.  The band would hold fund drives for a new set of instruments; handing down the old ones to new young players to learn on.  For a long time it was the Brodhead Silver Cornet Band complete with modern bell front and bell up instruments with policeman's style uniforms.  It remained so until after the turn of the century when it eventually died out; probably a victim of "progress" in the form of the Talking Machine and radio as many bands were.  Died that is until 1964, when the town of Galena contacted Fred Benkovic, a musical instrument collector from Milwaukee about re-creating that 15th Corps band for a re-enactment of Grant's return to Galena.  He did just that, and then?.......but that's another story.

Edward L. Pierce
Historian

SOURCES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
NOTE:   Editor's additions for clarity appear in brackets:[ ]
An Artillaryman's Diary, by Jenkin Lloyd Jones; published 1914 by the Wisconsin History Commission
Brodhead Historical Society, Chicago Historical Society, State Historical Society of Wisconsin, The Wisconsin Veteran's Museum, The Brodhead newspapers, Mills Music Library - University of Wisconsin-Madison, Greg D. Rupnow, Fred Benkovic, Paul Peterson, Gordon Odegard, and the friends and relatives of the men of these bands who preserved the words, music, and instruments for posterity so that we today can have "a band of far more than shadowy existence".

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