Civil War Bandsmen

RUFFLES & FLOURISHES by Peter Dannenberg

Charles B. Putnam of Cabot, Vermont, was a Civil War musician. He spent two years playing in the First Vermont Brigade Band.

William Allen Perry of Cabot was in the same army band. Perry enlisted on April 20, 1863 and mustered in on May 26, 1863. Perry received a disability discharge on December 22, 1863.

Putnam was born on January 1, 1846 in Marshfield. He was just 17 years old when he enlisted on May 11, 1863, as a musician. He mustered into the First Vermont Brigade Band, two weeks later, on May 26 at Brattleboro. Cabot received credit for his service. Putnam served for two years, until June 29, 1865.

The First Vermont Brigade (infantry) was nicknamed the “Old Brigade.” It was part of the Army of the Potomac. The Old Brigade had more casualties than any brigade in the history of the U.S. Army; 1,172 killed in action. The Civil War monument on Cabot’s Common includes some of their names. Bands from Vermont were at Seminary Ridge during the in­tense fighting on the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg.

The band attached to the First Vermont Brigade served with the Army of the Potomac from 1863-65. Putnam was with the band the entire time. He kept a diary of more than 200 pages. It is among the most detailed accounts of military life during the Civil War. Vermont Historical Society later copied it on microfilm. The diary begins on June 20, 1863, when the band consisted of sixteen mem­bers, led by N. D. Adams. The brigade was then at Fairfax Court House, Virginia.

From the time it joined the brigade in 1863, the band was with the Old Brigade at every battle. It was at the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1 – 3, 1863. The Vermont Brigade was a part of the pursuit of Lee's Army to Williamsport. They went to New York City to deal with draft riots. In May 1864, the First Vermont Brigade transferred to the Second Brigade, Second Division, Sixth Army Corps. They then served at the Battle of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Petersburg, Sailor’s Creek and the final pursuit, ending with the surrender at Appomattox Court House, Virginia on April 9, 1865. When Lee surrendered, they were with the brigade at Farmville, Virginia. and heard about the assassination of President Lincoln. On June 29, 1865, the Old Brigade Band mustered out at Hall's Hill, Virginia, near Washington.

Before leaving camp at Washington, the band agreed with the Second Vermont regiment to meet them at Burlington, when the regiment returned to Vermont. The band met the regiment in July 1865, and escorted them to City Hall. The next night, the band gave their final concert in City Hall.

THE BAND OF THE “OLD VERMONT BRIGADE!”

At the urgent request of the citizens of this city will give a MILITARY CONCERT! at the CITY HALL

Friday Evening, July 21st, I865

N. D. Adams Leader and Conductor

Doors open at 7. Concert Commences at 8 o'clock

Tickets 50 cents

PROGRAMME

PART FIRST.

1. Gen. Grierson's Grand March......................Downing

2. Song: "How Fair Thou Art"..........................Weidt

3. Waltz: "Il Baccio" (The Kiss)....................Arditti

4. Dirge: "Brave Men, Behold Your Fallen Chief"

(In memory of Gen. Sedgwick)

5. Medley: "High Daddy".............................Downing

PART SECOND.

1. Quadrille: from "Stradella".......................Ficton

2. Song: "The Vacant Chair"............................Vose

3. Galop: "Trab, Trab"................................Kuken

4. Aria: from "Robert le Diable"..................Meyerbeir

5. "The Officer's Funeral" In Memory of Our Brave Comrades Who Have Fallen

6. Potpourri on Army Calls: Introducing many of the familiar Bugle Calls and pieces played by most of the Bands of the "Old Sixth Corps."

Finis

There were 15 original band members, including Perry and Putnam. Six were later recruits. One killed in action. Seven members of the First Brigade Band came from subordinate regimental bands; two came from other regiments. The others enlisted directly into the band.

Putnam survived the war. In 1871, after the war, Cabot’s first telegraph office was in Sprague & Wells store on Main Street. Charles B. Putnam was the first office manager.

Charles B. Putnam died February 22, 1927, at age 81. His grave is in Green Mount Cemetery Montpelier. The Green Mount Cemetery Soldiers’ Lot is among the smallest parcels maintained by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. In 1865, Montpelier citizens donated a 450-square-foot lot in Green Mount Cemetery to the U.S. government, as a soldiers’ burial lot for Union troops. Eight Union soldiers lie on the cemetery’s western edge. Veterans of later wars are also in the lot. Putnam’s grave is a private lot.