The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1913-05-30

where he made good" first at Shiloh
and then at Chickamauga
When the war broke out in 1861 the
rule concerning musicians in the Unit
ed States army was about the same an
in the British army. after which it was
modelled
After the Crimean war England
adopted the rule of enlisting the mu-
sicians as soldiers and then forming
them into musical corps or bands
This became the practice of the regu-
lar army Of the United States, and the
volunteer army. OF course. followed
the same custom The regulate
were that there might be two musir
clans enlisted for each company Of In
fantry. Usually one was a ffer and
one drummer
Ii boy could show himself very
skillful at the rub-a -dub-dub or tootle-
te-toot he would be taken, even If he
lacked couple OF years, couple Of
inches and score of pounds to bring
him up to the regulation size. age and
weight This accounts for Willie
Johnson, aged thirteen, who was
awarded medal Of honor for some
gallant act performed the second year
OF the war while he was drummer In
the Third Vermont; for the boy Mum
son OF the Twenty-third Massachu-
setts, who was 'mortaily wounded at
the battle of Roanoke while only thir-
teen; of Gardner. the drummer OF the
Eighth Michigan, brought home to hin
anxious, waiting mother, dead from q
wound received In battle when he was
but little over thirteen.
Blue or gray, 1t made no difference
There were A. K Clark, drummer OF
the Fifth Georgia regiment who went
through the campaign weighing but
ninety-five pounds, and little Giffen 0R
Tennessee, the hero of classic war
lyric, who was nursed back to life i
from an awful wound only to go forth
again to battle and never be heard
from more.
The fife and drum corps OF an in
fantry regiment formed unit in it.
self. The members were detached
from the companies in which they had
enlisted and attached to regimentaE
headquarters, the same as the cOlor
guard. Under chief they occupied
separate quarters and were subject to
the directions OF the coloneI's stan Of
6cers In battle the 6fers and drum
mers. especially during the early days
OF the war, assisted the surgeons I'm
the care-of the wounded Often they
were with strangers. administering to
the fallen. and errands of mercy called
them to distant parts of the field.
In 1868 the Federal ambulance c0rpss
was organized. and the work of givingS
FIRST aid and removing the wounded
was done thereafter by ambulance at
tendants. This arrangement relieved
the musicians Of the duty of removing
wounded In stretchers and left them
free to roam the field in search OF
suffering victims.
Unlike the regimen.ai band. the reg
LmentaI fife and drum corps. which
Includes the regimental Dugler, has q
practical duty to perform in the rou-
tine OF camp and march. The band
Is luxury and an ornament Con-
gress discovered that early in 186
and legislated hundreds OF bands ont
Of existence.
The TOO then In service employed
1900 men and had already cost -
100000 In addition to the pay Of tho
men. their food and the expense of
them It was plain ae
that date that the war was to b Z
long and costly one.
The musicians were regularly enlist
ID soldiers. who could not b forced
% take up arms and light unless they
chose. The only way to abolish tho
bands was to muster them out oG
service. But music was not totally /.
banished from the army calnpA BIZ
rade bands were formed. and soane
reeiments or their odicers d patrono
Z home paid the expenses and retaln
ID the music.
The puris and II nns ana drum -