Category Archives: Regimental bands

Sax’s other horn

Adolph Sax, the Belgian inventor of the sax horn which virtually all Civil War unit bands on both sides played—including those at Knoxville in November 1863—didn’t have to rest on the laurels with which an appreciative populace crowned him. Indeed, … Continue reading

Posted in Civil War accoutrements, Regimental bands | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Rich man’s war, poor man’s fight

In a letter to his wife on Oct. 1, 1863, shortly before his division marched for Knoxville, Gen. Lafayette McLaws told how Gov. Brown of Georgia, who was then running for reelection, visited the Georgia troops in Gen. William Wofford’s … Continue reading

Posted in "Knoxville 1863", Gen. Lafayette McLaws, Regimental bands, The Phillips Georgia Legion | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Brass bands

Both sides at Knoxville had regimental brass bands, usually playing the over-the-shoulder sax horn like these at the Smithsonian Institution—one of the most popular instruments of a Nineteenth Century American Wind band because of its warm, mellow tone. Each band … Continue reading

Posted in "Knoxville 1863", Knoxville, Regimental bands | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment