The Boston Brigade Band (1821 – c. 1863) was a brass and reed band that performed in Boston, Massachusetts, and elsewhere in New England. Some of the musical pieces played by the band were subsequently published as sheet music, including "The Mammoth Cod Quickstep" of 1839. The band received acclaim in its day, particularly for its combination of both brass and woodwind instruments.
History
In 1821, at the request of Captain Martin Brimmer, Dan Simpson (proprietor of the Green Dragon tavern) "organized the Boston Brigade Band. ... Maj. Simpson was just the man to carry out successfully Capt. Brimmer's desire, for besides being well acquainted with the few musicians in Boston, he was the popular host of the tavern ... at which many of the old members [of the Green Dragon band] often congregated.
Leaders of the Brigade Band included: Asa Fillebrown (1821–1826, 1828–1835); James Kendall (1826–1827); Abel F. Knight (1836–1844); J.H. Seipp (1844–1848); Patrick S. Gilmore (1852, c. 1859); and E.H. Weston (c. 1858).
Band members in 1824 included: John Bartlett (trumpet); James Clark (clarinet); Lemuel Clark (French horn); William Crombie (bassoon); Asa Fillebrown (clarinet); George W. Foster (octave flute); James K. Kendall (clarinet); Richard Madden (bugle); Joel R. Mann (clarinet); Moses Mann (serpent); Willard W. Mann (clarinet); J. Henry Niebuhr (trumpet); Calvin Simonds (clarinet); Jonathan Stanley (bass drum); Asa Warren (bass horn); John B. Warren; Samuel Wetherbee (French horn); Charles Wright (cymbals). "William Crombie, who beat the cymbols, kept a tavern on the corner of Cambridge and Garden" streets. "Lemuel Clark was a crusty man, but a good musician. He became drum major of the band in September, 1830(?), on Centennial day. ... He wore a scarlet coat, flat cocked hat and carried a red baton, which he never knew how to swing, saying: 'He wasn't going to play any of them monkey tricks.'"
The band often performed at appearances of the Boston Light Infantry. "The band uniform ... was especially neat and attractive and bore a marked difference to any then worn by the militia. The coat was blue, of the same style and pattern as worn by the officers of the U.S. army, with three rows of bell buttons on the front, and was further set off by a gold-laced collar."
According to one account, "the band grew in proficiency, and became quite celebrated. It existed until 1861, when it was dissolved by Mr. Eben Flagg. After the band dissolved, some of the musicians joined the Edmands' Band and Orchestra, formed in 1863 by Thomas Ormsby Edmands.
Selected performances
1821 – September 23 – Brigade muster, Boston Common
1823 – October 15 – Salem Light Infantry 18th Anniversary, Salem MA
1825 – October 14: Salem East India Marine Society hall dedication. 1831 – June – Boston Guards visit to Philadelphia. "The band gave two concerts at Musical Fund Hall, which were greatly applauded, and attended by 12 or 1500 persons." 1830 – October 25 – Salem Light Infantry 25th Anniversary, Salem MA 1832 – Laying the cornerstone of the Masonic Temple, Boston. 1833 – October 16 – Salem Light Infantry 28th Anniversary, Salem MA 1835 – October 16 – Salem Light Infantry 30th Anniversary, Salem MA 1837 August 24 – Salem Light Infantry 32nd Anniversary, Salem MA October 4 – Parade on Berry Street, Boston 1838 – October – Regimental parade, Boston 1840 May 29 – Parade in Ipswich, MA July – Encampment of the Boston Light Infantry, Springfield Mass. 1841 – August 17 – Boston 1843 – February – Odeon, Boston 1844 May 30 – Abstinence Convention, Boston June 26 – Salem, MA August 15 – Yale commencement, New Haven CT 1853 – May 26 – Keene, New Hampshire, centennial celebration 1854 – August – University of Vermont semi-centennial celebration 1855 Middlesex Cattle Show and Exhibition. "The Spading Match took place at ten, immediately after the plowing, and, as usual, drew a large concourse of spectators. The stirring strains of the Boston Brigade Band lent their aid to the occasion, and the scene soon became an animated one, the spectators at once fixing upon their favorite competitors, and becoming as deeply interested as the spaders themselves." October 9 – Salem Light Infantry 50th Anniversary, Salem MA 1856 Brown University commencement October 2 – Reception of President Franklin Pierce in New Hampshire. 1859 – Visit of the Knights Templar of Boston to Masons in Richmond, California 1863 – September 2 – Arrival of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry at Commercial Wharf, Boston