Musicology Australia

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The Letters of James H. George: A Union Musician

during the American Civil War

Craig De Wilde

To cite this article: Craig De Wilde (2005) The Letters of James H. George: A Union
Musician during the American Civil War, Musicology Australia, 28:1, 90-100, DOI:
10.1080/08145857.2005.10415279

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The Letters ofJames H. George: A Union
Musician during the American Civil War
CRAIG DE W I L D E

No event m American history had more devastatmg results than the Civil Vc~r. For
four years the nation was racked by a seemingly endless bloodletting When the guns
finally fell silent in the sprmg of r865, more than 63o,ooo Amerxcans had died.
Americans had inflicted upon one another more casualties than had ever been
sustained m a prewous, or subsequent, foreign war. [By comparison, some 6o6,ooo
Americans were killed in all other conflicts from the French and Indian Wars of
i754-i763 through Korea.] In the course of the struggle, a war of lirmted objectives had
been translated into total war. The enemy was no longer armtes but entire civahan
populatmns . when final defeat engulfed the South, its economy was m shambles;
vast stretches of its temtory were tinned; and tts soclal msututions founded on slavery
had been smashed .. As one contemporary noted, the boundary between the two
sectmns was drawn m blood 1

So begins James Shelton in his preface to W i l h a m Barney's book F l a w e d Victory:

A N e w Perspective on the Civil War. Clearly thas event so profoundly shaped the
entire subsequent history of the U m t e d States that many areas still feel the after
effects of the confhct to the present day. T h e davision of states during the Civd War
is shown in Figure i. T h e scale of this war is almost inconcexvable in the annals of
modern history. Northern states such as Illinois and Vermont sent almost fifteen
per cent of their population to fight, while Southern states sent even more: m one
instance, of the I47 m e n of mlhtary age in one townshap, Ii 7 were at war. 2 Even
today the sight of the Confederate flag can incxte strong emotions. For example, in
the summer of 2ooo the South Carolina legislature made the highly charged decx-
sion to no longer fly the 'Stars and Bars' over the state capatal, ending a i35-year
trachtion. Countless books and documentaries have been devoted to the topic,
including the outstanding television series by Ken Burns on the Cxval War as docu-
mented in contemporary photographs and the soldier's own words 3

Mapping the Conflict and its Music

T h e deeply felt emotional fervour of this conflict has left a heritage of music that
reflects these feelings in a most vivid way. T h e musicologist Charles H a r n m has
noted that thxs music was so intimately involved with the time that it actually
1 Wilham L Barney,Fla~oed V*ctory A New Perspectrve on the C*vd War (New York: Praeger
Publishers,I975.),vfi
2 ~ner,can CivilWar Research Database',wwwcivilwardata.com(accessed18June aoox;updated
December zoo6) See also Peter J Parish, TheAmencan Clvd War (London Eyre Methuen, i975)
3 Ken Bums, The C*vtl War A Film by Ken Burns (Mdsons Point, New South Wales" Florentine
Fdms and WETA-TV. Time Life Video, x99:q released by PBS Paramount as DVD five-disc set
841887o5xz48m 2004) On the PBS websxtefor the televmonseries the historianJames M McPherson
is quoted as claimingthat 'there are some 50,000 volumes on the Civil War, and more books about
AbrahamLincolnalonethan there are about any other htstoncalfigure,except for Jesus of Nazareth and
Wdham Shakespeare'.See wwwpbs org/cMlwar/war/blbhography.html(accessed i December zoo6).

9~
 Cra,g De Wilde, The Letters ofJames H George 91

Figure i The Division of States during the American Civil War

became a part o f those events. 4 The songs were concerned with the entire range of
activities of the war: emotional outpounngs o f individuals caught up in the war,
antislavery songs, political rallying songs, songs about heroes and pofittcal leaders,
songs about battles or other events, and songs about the soldiers' life in camp. T h e
songs were sung in homes, rallies, pohtical gatherings and mass meetings, and in
no other war in American history has music played such an important role among
the men involved in the campaigns and battles. T h e most famous confederate sol-
dier o f them all, General Robert E. Lee, wrote: 'I don't beheve we can have an army
without music'. 5 Soldters would often carry so-called 'songsters', or pocket collec-
tions of favourite song lyrics, into battle. Music even created the curious
phenomenon o f fraternization of soldiers between battles. There are numerous
instances where rival army bands would play within earshot of each other in a
battle-of-the-bands type contest, only to slaughter each other with more serious
weapons on the battlefield the next day.
The most c o m m o n musical genre represented in this repertoire is the ballad.
These works consisted of native ballads, where both the words and music were
newly composed simultaneously, or broadside ballads, which included newly com-
posed texts to a pre-existing melody. There are numerous examples of soldiers from
both sides performing the same ballad at the same time. It was also common to
have two or more different versions o f a broadside ballad, one with decidedly
Union leanings and the other with clear Confederate sympathies. A n example of
the latter is the broadside 'Maryland! M y Maryland!' T h e lyrics are to be sung to
the German Christmas song 0 Tannenbaum. Maryland was a border state during
the war and had a population divided radically between Union and Confederate

5. '"Must Have" Recordings of CavilWar Songs' (dated i999), at wwwclvilwar.com/muslbot.htm

(accessed 18June 2ooi, updated December 2o06)
4 Charles Harem, Yesterdays PopularSongm Arnerrca(New York.W.W Norton, I979), 23o
9z Musicology Australia vol 28

ideals. The Poet James Ryder Randell, whose sympathies were with the South,
urged his state to join the Confederacy with the first version:
Maryland! My Maryland v
Dear Mother, burst the tyrant's chain,
Maryland! My Maryland!
Virginia should not call m vain v
Not to be outdone, the Union supporter William M. C. Hosmer answered with the
Northern version:
Maryland! My Maryland v
One sword-strlke for the good old flag,
Maryland I My Maryland I
Down with secession's shameless rag.6
In addition to the broadside ballad, instrumental dance music was also popular
(especially polkas, waltzes and quick steps), as were choruses and interludes from
famous operas of Verdi and Rossini.
One of the most significant features of the repertoire of Civil War songs is the
way in which the nature of the ballads changed almost immediately after the war
began. While, in the early days of battles, it is easy to find examples of spirited
patriotic songs such as 'I Wish I Was in Dixie's Land', 'The Battle Cry of
Freedom', 'The Bonnie Blue Flag' and 'The Battle Hymn of the Republic', very
soon afterwards the tenor of many songs changed dramatically to express the sor-
row and hopelessness of the conflict in ballads such as ~ll Quiet Along the
Potomac Tonight' and 'Tenting on the Old Camp Ground'. It may have been the
disappointed Ideology of youth that influenced this change in the sentiments
related to the war. These were among some of the youngest American soldiers of
any conflict. While the official age of recruitment was eighteen, there are numer-
ous examples of soldiers as young as fourteen fighting for the cause. There were
also skirmishes between soldiers and the civilian population, often including chil-
dren, especially when the soldiers ventured into enemy territory. The officers
tended to be young as well: while the 'grand old men' were middle aged by mod-
ern standards (Robert E. Lee was 54 and Thomas 'Stonewall'Jackson was 36 at the
start of the war), Confederate Brigadier General William P. Roberts was twenty
and Umon Brigadier General William E Draper was only eighteen. 7

Reconstructing the Musical Life of a Union Army Musician

The Huntington Library in San Marino, California, houses one of the largest
Americana collections in the world, second only to that held in the United States
Library of Congress. Included in this collection is a vast repository of material dat-
ing from the Civil War, including autographed letters of famous Americans as
diverse as President Abraham Lincoln, the circus promoter P. T. Barnum and the
minstrd composer Stephen Foster. Also included in the collection are items such
as diaries, maps, sheet music, political cartoons, books and other primary materi-
als related to the history of the war years. O f particular interest is a collection of
6 DanielJ Kmgman,American Musu A Panorama (NewYork Macmillan,i99o),322,
7. 9maericanCivilW~ ResearchDatabase',www.civdwardatacom (accessedi8 June 2ooi, updated
Decemberzoo6)
 Craig De Wdde, The Letters ofJames H George 93

letters written by James Herbert George. George was a musician with the Union
Army (or the North) m Company G, xoth Regiment of the Vermont Volunteers.
The collection consists of 75 letters, all written to the family at home in Vermont:
63 letters by James Herbert George (all signed Herbert), six letters from Charles
George, Herbert's older brother and ultimately a member of his band, five letters
from Herbert's younger brother Osmon, who died on 2 December i863, and one
letter from Jere George, another older brother. The letters span just over three
years, from 31 March i862 to 27 June 1865. These letters are wonderfully detailed
and reflect the entire emouonal spectrum common to those indivaduals involved m
such a conflict, from moments of positive exuberance, high hopes and youthful
bravado to other moments of introspection and deep despair. In addition, the let-
ters provide a revealing insight into the fife of an army-band musician of the time
In this essay I will give a brief overview of the 63 letters in the James Herbert
George collection, and draw some general observauons from their contents.
James Herbert George's first letter dates from I and 2 October i862 and is
addressed 'To Folks at Home' which is the most common desunatmn for the let-
ters, although he also writes individually to his mother, father, and sister Em on
occasion. George was nineteen years old at the time of writing (he mentions how
he is to turn twenty in a letter written four weeks later), and it is clear that he had
recently enlisted for a three-year period. The Ioth Regiment of the Vermont
Volunteers was stationed throughout the war in the so-called Eastern Theatre,
specifically the Virginia Theatre (see Figure z).
This area saw the bloodiest and most sustained battles of the war, as is illus-
trated by some famlhar names such as Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It was also the
area where the permanent capital city of one side was located a mere 15~ ldlometres
from that of the other--Washington, D. C. m the North and Rachmond, Virginia
in the South.
The letters from George contain much of the standard mformauon one would
expect to find in collections and diary accounts of this kind (see Figure 3)-
Consistently repeated topics include food, illness, the inclement weather, camp
life, news from the war front, George's personal opinions of the officers in corn-'
mand, and marching routines. Rarely is a letter written, particularly early on in the
series, without some mention of food or a request for a 'care package' to be sent
from home in Vermont and to include various items of food and clothing. The diet
of the Union soldier was certainly not one to be envied in any context. High on the
hst was boded pork (pigs, both wdd and domesticated, were quite plentiful in this
region) and hard tack--a particularly unpopular item made with flour, water, salt
and little else. Other foods mentioned include soft bread (when yeast was avadable
at certain times), potatoes, green beans, beets, onions, turnips and beef. Figs could
occasionally be had at three for five cents, while raisins were someumes available
for forty cents a pound. Most of the heartier vegetables could be obtained through
sympathetic locals and by raiding gardens, and could be stored for an extended
period of time. George longs for good home cooking in his letters. Fresh lamb,
pumpkin pie, and doughnuts are particular favourites, and he usually ended his
'care' package requests with one for maple sugar, a diabetic-inducing confection
common to New England and made from maple syrup. With this diet, it is prob-
ably not surprising that the next most common topic in his letters is illness. George
goes into not inconsiderable detail about his various gastrointestinal distresses (the
details of which I will omit, but suffice to say they encompass both ends of the
94 Musicology Austraha vol 28

Figure 2 The AmericanCivilWar (The VirginiaTheatre)

spectrum), and he was very concerned with the ill health of has younger brother
Osmon, who was in and out of the hospital on a regular basis before his death in
December i863. The severity of the weather, especially when cold, was another
common topic, and frequently George asks in his letters for his fam~y to send mit-
tens and boots. After i863, however, the requests for 'care packages' became far less
frequent, suggesting that George had either gained a higher level of self sufficiency
or that there were other far more pressing concerns on his mind.
Probably the most poignant aspect of these letters is the emotional outpourings
George wrxtes to his family from time to time, particularly in the early letters. In
his letter o f : 4 October :862 he complains:
 Craig De Wzlde, The Letters ofJaraes H George 95

Figure 3 Writing sample from a letter ofJames Herbert George dated a7June x865
Thas 1tern is reproduced by permission of The Hunungton Library, San Marino, Cahforma.

When I am sick I am homesxck too, and when I am well I feel lake staying till the war
is over I don't care how soon the hateful business is settled now. The qmcker the better
it will suit me. I ain't homesxck at all but still want peace to be declared before next
spring, and then I would like to g_q home I can't read a letter from home or from any
of the folks without the tears c o m i n g . . . I can hardly read them aloud. I cannot even
look at the name of any of you without a sagh some way or another

T h e most chilhng aspect o f these words, o f course, is the fact that the war at this
stage was still two and a half years from its conclusion.
O f greatest interest to our context is the information regarding all aspects musi-
cal in this series o f letters. A t the beginning o f his involvement m the war, George
was a Sergeant F i l e r with the D r u m Corps o f C o m p a n y G o f the regiment. As
such he was paid twelve dollars monthly that, true to form for musicians every-
where, was the absolute b o t t o m o f the pay scale. By comparison, a private second
class received thirteen dollars per month, a private first class seventeen dollars, and
the Chaplain received one hundred dollars plus a m o n t h l y subsistence payment o f
eighteen dollars. T h e big winners were the Lieutenant Generals who received $270
per month plus $36o monthly subsistence, s By i November x86z George mentions
that he may add bugler to his duties for an additional one dollar per month,
although, he comments, 'It don't blow so easy as m y fife'. H e also menuons in the
same letter that he does not hke the D r u m M a j o r as he feels he 'doesn't come up
to the mark'. George's main musical function at this stage was playing for forma-
tion marches and exercises and, o f course, for funerals.

8 5fi.mencanCivil War Research Database', www.cMlwardatacom (accessedi8 June 2ooi, updated

December 2006)
9 6 Musmology Austraha vol. 2g

A major advancement for George occurred on 3 January I863 when he states in

one of his letters that he has been ordered to serve as acting Drum Major, since the
previous Drum Major '&dn't know a thing about music'. Thanks to this new duty,
he was now reheved of picket or guard duty and was playing for the officers for
private occasions. George was playing both the bugle and fife at this point, and
sounding the camp calls at tattoo m the evening and reveille an the morning. In
addmon, he bugled during the skirmishes that had become more frequent. In May
1863 he wrote of his recent trip to Washington D.C. (approximately 32 miles from
his present camp) to purchase a new drum, two new fifes and some music.
George's personal turning point of the war was announced in his letter of 7 June
1863, when he was promoted to Principal Musician at the pnncely wage of twenty-
one dollars a month "anth an additional seven dollars a month state pay, which was
identical to the pay for the top, non-commissioned officers. He describes his new
uniform and its costs in detail: a loose blouse, long sack coat, dark blue with staff
buttons and chevrons--S6; sleeves--$1.5o; and cap--$2.65 which has 'almost a dol-
lar's worth of gold lace on it. O My'. He was ordered to organize a band to lead,
even though, as he admitted in the letter, 'I am not competent to lead a band, but
the Colonel says I must so never mind', He boasted that he had been assigned the
most experienced band players (also arrangmg for his brothers Osmon and Charhe
to play bass drum and alto horn respectively) and was given $i6o to purchase
instruments. In a rare letter from George's older brother Charhe, dated three weeks
later, Charlie states that 'our little brother Herbert has got a band together with the
instruments picked out and the men all detailed, practicing 4 hours per day'.
Charhe further mentions m his letter home that he is playing the B flat cornet and
can 'play the scale and that's about all'. By 4 October i863, George reports that the
band has a repertoire of twenty-three pieces and is playing for the Division
Commander as well as for the new Gcneral assigned to the Brigade. He also men-
tions that he is only playing the cornet now, and is no longer playing the fife, and
is taking most of the lead lines in the music.
W h e n the fighting began to intensify in early December i863, the band was
assigned to the rear of the forces to assist the surgeons in the field hospital, in addi-
tion to their playing duties The use of musicians in field hospitals was a new
mitaative that subsequently changed the very foundations of modern army medical
care. A series of guidehnes estabhshed in 1863 by Jonathan Letterman, medical
director for the Army of the Potomac, was a result of the public outcry against the
inefficiencies of established medical care during wartime. 9 These guidelines stipu-
lated the use of musicians to help the wounded to the aid stations and to assist in
medical operations, in units that became the forerunners to the latter-day Mobile
Army Surgical Hospitals (MASH) units used in World War II and the Korean
conflict. It appears that George's band was among the first ever to be used in this
capacity. By the beginning of I864 the fighting subsided somewhat and George
wrote that he was very revolved with his band duties. He was teaching the band
new music (although he admits that he does not always understand it completely
himself) and complains that the band 'boys' interrupt him constantly with ques-
tions such as, 'Well Herb can you tell me what that means or how you play
t h a t . . . ?' He also now has a tent large enough for the whole band to rehearse
inside, away from the cold, except for the drums. In his letter of 28 January I864,
George claims that the band's repertoire now consists of over fifty pieces. He also
9. 'NatmnalClwlWar Assocmtmn'at wwwncwaorg (accessed3~ October2ooi, updatedDecember2006)
 Crazg De Wilde, The Letters ofJames H George 97

writes that there might be the possibihty that he will conduct the Brigade band,
where the leader is paad an impressive forty-five dollars a month. As it turned out,
he only conducted one Division reveille with all the musicians in the Brigade,
which totalled about fifty instrumentalists. T h e Brigade band never came to pass.
Apparently at this time George also found the need to invoke a temperance
pledge for the band, and mentions that two members are particularly in need o f
such a commitment. He revoked the' pledge with the following conditions:
We the undersigned members of the ~oth Vermont Band, do prormse that we wall not
drink any whisky whale doing duty as a band as long as we remain m the servlce of the
U. S Any member that shall wllfiAly break thas promlse shall forfeit $i to the Band
upon a vote of 2/3rds of its members.
It is not until late in the series of letters that George mentions that there are fif-
teen band members; whach would suggest the two-thirds fraction refers to ten o f
the fifteen members. The temperance pledge may be explained by the fact that the
band played at a dance 'with lO-19, ladies in the camp' for an officers' funcuon.
George 'played cornet with the violins, for which Colonel H e n r y gave us each $i'.
A particularly interesung moment m the series of letters is documented in five
letters written between 4 May and 4 July I864. Two o f the bloodiest campaigns of
the war took place at this time in the area where George was located between the
towns of Spotsylvania and Richmond, Virgima T h e so-called Wilderness Cam-
palgn and the Spotsylvania Campaign saw some o f the most brutal fighting of the
war, as Ulysses S. Grant's northern troops attempted unsuccessfully to invade
Richmond and overthrow Robert E. Lee's southern troops. Troop losses were stag-
gering: in one month, from 4 M a y to 4 June, over 5o,ooo U m o n soldiers were
killed, representing forty-one per cent of their original strength. T h e rebel soldier
losses were over 32,000 killed, but this represented forty-six per cent of their origi-
nal strength. 1~ The five letters from George to has mother are essentially a
coUecuon of daily diary entries describing the battles, casualties, taking o f prison-
ers, marching manoeuvres and other news from the battlefront.
(5 May I864, Thursday): We went along to join our Dlv[lsion]down towards the left
where they were fighting We came up with them about 3 o'clock and by that ume the
firing became very hot, mostly musketmg on both sides. The trees were so thack they
could not get artillery to play good at all.. The wounded are coming m fast. The
musket firing is ternble and our loss is very heavy.
(2o May I864): One house was burned [by the Union army] this forenoon a short
distance from here The owner killed one of our Colonels a few days ago and then
hung hlmseff Any of the citizens around here could shoot any of us ff they were not
guarded
T h e band members were always taken offthe front lines when the fighting became
heavy and were put under the orders of the surgeons in the field hospital. George
grimly outlines his duties tending the wounded, including some graphic details of
assisting with amputations, and keeps track of the familiar faces he sees in hospital.
(5 May I864, Thursday) I had orders to report with my band to Div[lsion] hospital for
service as nurses and stretcher bearers, whach is some two miles to the rear of the hne
of battle. . The other band fell out and remained wath the road somewhere m the
rear so that we are the only band and the only nurses here yet . We went to work
10 ~raencan ClwlWar Research Database',wwwcivilwardata corn (accessedi8 June 2ooi, updated
December 2oo6)
98 Musicology Austraha vol. 2g

putting up tents for the wounded and bringing water, etc etc. It as now dark and still
the firing Our hospltal is runmng over with poor fellows shot m the field brought m
by ambulances. Officers and men together, several hundred of them... Charhe and
McClure [Herbert George's brother and a musician from George's band respectively]
are both assisting the surgeons in amputatmg The Surgeon in Chief eomphments
them very highly for doing so much good They are both good nurses.
(6 May I864, Friday): Indeed I don't know what the wounded would do if it was not
for the muqmlans. Firing commenced early this mormng and continued all day, mostly
musketing, and our brave boys poured into the hospital by scores, wounded, many of
them pretty bad
The band played for the hospital patients from time to time as well. George also
describes the strange truces where the union and rebel soldiers worked side by side
to bury their dead, sometimes even exchanging handshakes and notes, only to
resume battle a few hours later.
After these campaigns the Brigade moved further up to Frederick City
Maryland for a new wave of attacks. On 9 July I864, William Garvin, the tuba
player from George's band, was captured by rebel forces. In a later letter dated 6
May I865, after the surrender of Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army, George
describes how he enters the prison camp where Garvin was held and discovers the
notation scrawled in the brick of his prison cell: 'William W. Garvin, ist tuba
player, ruth Vermont Band, J. H. George Leader, captured July 9 I864 at Frederick
City Maryland. Long is the lane that has no end'. In his letter, George laments the
death of his friend, who was severely malnourished at the tame of his release and
ched during a prisoner exchange in Annapolis, Maryland.
The letter of 24 August 1864 yields some valuable information regarding the
repertoire of the band. George writes to his sister Em to explain that the bass
drummer has lost his music book, and requests that she send him copies of a num-
ber of songs.
The list is consistent with the categories of music common to mlfitary bands,
with rallying songs and dance numbers being the most popular. George mentions
m the same letter that he had also acquired some music from the 87th Pennsylvania
Volunteers band, since their enlistment time of three years was now up and they
were returning home.

Musical Life for James H. George in the Final Months of the War
By November i864 the band was once again prospering, and the general mood of
George's letters reflects far more optimism than earlier in the year. The letters from
this point until the end of the series are less frequent and not centred on battles or
troop losses. There are repeated references to the end being in sight and the rebel
forces being defeated. George even mentions going into the music business after
the war, but his specific intentions are not clear. On 9 April ~865 his prayers were
answered, and the top of his letter carries the announcement 'On the fidd of glory
[Appomattox Court House] where General Robert E. Lee surrendered the
Confederate Army to General Grant on 9 April i865'. He describes the euphoria:
cheers from thousands of soldiers, shots fired in the air, flags waving. His band was
hastdy brought together to play 'Hurrah to the Union', 'Haft Columbia' and 'The
 Craig De Wilde, The Letters ofJames H George 99

Table 1 Musical works cited by name in the letters ofJames H. George

Title Composer (if known)

Anvd Chorus from II Tro,oatore Verdi
Battle Hymn of the Repubhc Julia Ward Howe
Blarney Medley
Brightest Eyes
Cavatma from Lucta di Lammermoor Donizetti
Cavatma and Chorus from II Trovatore Verdi
Dtrge Dodworth
Dtrge Ringold
Elfin Waltz Labitsky
Ever of Thee I am Fondly Dreaming G Linley
Grand March from Belhsarm
Grand Terzetto de la Duchess from Lucretm Borgm Domzettt
Had Columbia Hopkmson/Phfle
Happy AxeWe Tonight Boys Morris/Judkms
Home Sweet Home J H Payne
Hurrah for the Union H R Bishop
Introduction to Ernam Verdi
Jig Medley
March du Sacre
Marksmmo Polka
Mockingbird Quick Step S Winner
On the Fxeld of Glory
Slcihan Vespers O~lck Step Verdi
Song of the SpringWaltz M S Turner
Sontag Polka C D'Albert
Star Spangled Banner F S Key
Tramp Tramp Tramp or the Prisoner's Hope G 17Root
Vahance Polka
Violet Medley
Viva La America H Mdlard
We Axe Growing Old Quick Step
When Johnny Comes Marching Home P S Gdmore
Wood Up Qutck Step J Holloway
Yankee Doodle

Star Spangled Banner', and 'Yankee Doodle' was given a special double time ren-
dition whlch proved to be so popular that they were then encouraged to play it
three times. T h e euphoria was tempered somewhat on 19 April i865, a national day
o f mourning for the funeral of Abraham Lincoln who had been assassinated four
days before. However, by 29 April i865, George writes that the regiment has
marched into the confederate stronghold of Danville, Virginia, where his band
played two pieces down the main street. By 19 M a y i865 the regiment arrived at
their ultimate goal of Richmond, Virginia, having run the defeated Confederate
A r m y out of their own capital. George had quite a time o f it here, enjoying ice
cream, doughnuts and lemonade (food for which his early letters often mentioned
a longing), and he even found time to tune a piano for a young lady who paid him
with a bouquet of flowers.
T h e final letter o f the series provides the happy ending all too rare in letters
from this period. O n 27 June I865, the regiment arrived in Burlington Virginia to
a hero's welcome:
Had a grand reception for the boys--it was raining and dark but the ladms were out as
we came into the Town H a l l . . . They sang Union songs to us and showered hundreds
of bouquets on our heads as we passed to eat . Almost cried I was so happy. Our
lOO Mus,cology Australta vol 28

musxc was hlghly appreciated I can tell you. We had to play so much, all the way from
Washington here, that my hps are awful sore, but I don't care. I'm home almost.
George continues by bragging that his is the best band in the state, and that it has
had invitations from all over to come and play. He invxtes the family to come and
hear the band play, and promxses that, d t h e y do come, it is going to be a 'big time'.
Through this series of letters, we are able to glimpse the daily reality of life for
an army musician during the American CM1 War. It is clear that music played an
important role at the time. It was used not only as a source of entertainment, but
succeeded m serving a number of other purposes as well; inspiring the troops, both
in camp and during their travels, as well as providing signals for battle manoeuvres.
It is also insightful that the musicians were unlized for a number of functions
besides music, most importantly in their newly initiated role of assisting surgeons
and nurses in the field hospitals. It is through the study of primary source material
of this type that the researcher can see through the eyes of those for whom history
had no escape

Acknowledgements
The author wishes to express his appreciation for the kind support of the staff at
the Huntington Library in San Marmo, California, and of the Avery Director of
the Library, Mr David Zeldberg, for permission to pubhsh selected materials con-
tamed in the James Herbert George Collection. In addition, sincere thanks are
extended to Mr Gary Swinton of the School of Geography and Environmental
Science, Faculty of Arts, Monash Unxverslty, and to my father, Mr Ralph De
Wilde, for the preparation of the maps.

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