The 26th North Carolina Regimental Band Civil War Music 

As a member of this group, I can tell you that the mouthpieces are original to the period, and do make a difference in the tone color of the sound. These mouthpieces are quite a bit deeper and more funnel shaped than modern pieces, and are a big reason the sound of the group is so mellow.

Being an old bandsman I can appreciate the skill and talent required to play these old horns, perhaps moreso than the various string bands......Excellent. My compliments.

Yeehaww to my boys in NC I'm in the 1 NC artillery go get em boys

A very good band playing a very nice piece of music. As a former brass player myself, I appreciate it. Thank you, guys.

I have an ancestor, Henry Clay Coffey, who served in the 26th NC, Co F. He was the 86th of 87 injured/killed out of 88 men, 01/07/1863. We have a copy of a letter he wrote to his parents telling them of the death of a brother who died of illness at Petersburg.

Lorena is a beautiful song.

I also really enjoy the comments, all these folks have posted. I am so happy that there are others, out there, like me, who appreciate period music. I have always wished my folks would have sprung on an instrument for me to learn, so I could play along with others, for civil war re-enactments or just for fun. Thank you ALL, for keeping history alive. =)

I think it's GREAT the way these guys make those old instruments sing again....BRAVO !

I am such a fan of this great music and this band does it so very well. I love the original photo of the 26TH NORTH CAROLINA BAND

Jeeezuz! That tune "Lorena" WILL not get outta my head. I don't really mind that much LOLOL!

Thanks! The music is from our CD "Better Than Rations or Medicine" The photos allow more views of the band in different venues rather than just one video.

Good recording! I enjoyed playing with the 26th up in Manassas VA while I was with the 37th Georgia under Dr. Clyde E. Noble!

Thanks Just google Federal City Brass and go to the website. Info for ordering the CD is there. Best Regards FCBB

I just love hearing music from our past. It is so rich and full. It can either make you smile or cry, depending on the tune. Thank you for posting this video, full of history and gorgeous music, Friend!! =)

the is a grat example of home town heros. Winston-Salem NC

I love the Lorena bit. Never knew it could be used as a marching tune until-thought it was just a campside ditty. Good work!

Hots off from your friends in the 25th NC. You sound better every time we hear you.

This regiment suffered more casualties at Gettysburg than any other southern regiment. I company started out with 82 men and at the end of the 3rd day there were none left that weren't dead or wounded. They ran the Iron Brigade out on the first day which was the best US fighting regiment in that war.

These guys are incredible musicians and do what they do in honor of other incredible musicians who have preceded them. You have to be with them and see for yourself to really appreciate it. It's all about the MUSIC. They're also a great group of individuals and have impeccable credentials--each member a musicologist. Please keep these low-brow comments to videos that are more deserving of of ridicule, intended or otherwise. In other word lay off!!!

Thanks Steve! Sam's contribution to the 26th NC will always be remembered! Please stay in touch with us. Best, The 26th NC Band

Lovely music. Very, very reminiscent of the brass bands in the North of England.

Excellent period rendition of "Lorena!" These fellows have a good 19th century sound.

Great to have you along with us at some events and this is one of my favorite songs. Pvt. S Galloway 26th NC Reactivated Co. E

That would be really cool. I think we met up with you all on July 1st, 1863 :) We are planning to be at both events next year!

Had an Ancestor in the 26th NC infantry Company B, the Sandy Run Yellow Jackets. Hearing the music this band plays helps me feel like I have another connection with my distant ancestors.

It must have been a beautiful thing when the soldiers could be given some rest and listen to melodies like this during The War of Northern Aggression.

Fabulous...loved this.

What a great band! I hope to hear them live someday...

Quite an incredible sound from the group. I would like to know more about them.

I don't normally like contemplating the War of Northern Aggession since I know how it ended but these guys are EXCELLENT !!!

Just love this music

God bless ALL our girls and boys in USA!!!! ...Kiss!

I don't play, but, I love this music, a lot! I wish you all the best in getting in contact with a group and for you to blow your little heart out, either for fun or to help keep history alive.

Lorena instrumentally. An excellent rendition.

Excellent work, thanks for posting this! Glad to hear that the regimental bands live on.

Fifth Regimental Band is located in Novi, Michigan. Guy and Carol Smith are the primary contacts. Yes, you will find the fingerings familiar. A lot of fun. Good luck.

dirtyfiddle You are so right! These are super musicians.

Great band and great pictures: long live Dixie!

wonderful! I enjoyed this. Nancy B. Brewer author of Carolina Rain.

Who would have thought in '07 we would possibly hear something from the Civil War era. Thank you.

Great job! Greetings from a Steward of the 8th. NC Statetroops Infantry Rgt / F Company, Germany

Thank you.

great music im going to get a cd

You have a pretty corps, and you make wonderful music. Cordial compliments and greetings from a German bas band brother!!

The horns in the band are Eb and Bb choirs. Eb and Bb Cornets, Eb Tenor Horns (altos), Bb Tenor Horns, Bb Baritones, Bb Bass and Eb Bass. Fingerings are the same as modern instruments.

@Mrmusicdude101 The 19th century fingering for the saxhorns is the same as today

Our band director got his hands on some the actual tunes the 26th played. We use them as etudes! :D

Oldscout, the music the cadets are playing in "The Horse Soldiers" is the Bonnie Blue Flag. Hope that helps!

Try this one with this heading: Brass Bands of the Civil War posted by: tapsbugler It's a 4 song compilation of familiar songs.

i heard stories bout our units hooking up at gettysburg living history

Many players do play on regular trumpet or cornet mouthpieces though there are sometime incompatibilities in the shanks and where the venturi line up. Others play on period mouthpieces which are not much different. A custom mouthpiece is an option. Kerosene was developed prior to 1854 so that is one option-modern valve oil (except synthetics) is deodorized kerosene. Prior to that, animal, vegetable and fish oils would have been used.

This is an arrangement by, I believe, Jari Villanueva called Lorena and Bright Smiles.

As a displaced Yankee I am with the South against President Lincoln"s "War of Aggression" that was caused by his unfair taxation of the South.

long live the CSA

My bad it was the 24th Michigan but that does not detract from the musicians' excellent performance

Listen closely folks! That solo horn is a CORNET not a trumpet. Cornet players of the world, MAKE yerselves heard!!! What is the NAME of the piece? I love it. :>}

Beautifully done. It is hard to imagine keeping brass instruments in tune under field conditions. Was the real 26th NC not the regiment that collided with the 25th Michigan at Herbst's Woods? Essentially both regiments were annihilated.

If the South was to secede these days, the North would probably just have to recognize the new government, seeing as how the UN would condemn any effort to put down the secession and Lincoln himself did not start the civil war ... he only started the war when Fort Sumter was fired upon. Then again, the US is much more culturally homogeneous than it was 150 years ago that it seems unlikely that any secession bill would pass the state legislatures.

I really don't care about the politics of any of this, the music is fantastic. I wish there was a group like this here up north that I could join. Now, a technical question for tapsbugler, are those old keyed saxhorns the same valve system as a trumpet? For instance, if I go to play a written Bb, it is first valve, A is first and second, etc.?

I was just given the CD, "Storm in the Land" by a group playing the recreated manuscripts. Beautiful music. As a trumpet player myself, I'm impressed. Burning question: Are they playing on the original mouthpieces? Trumpet players today have a lot of options, and are obsessed with cup shapes, back bores, rim sizes, ad infinitum. We're kind of spoiled, to say the least. And what did they do for valve oil back then, i wonder?

This great. The cornet is a much better instrument for brass or wind band than the trumpet. US army bands which use the trumpet have a hard, harsh sound. They should start using cornets instead, like British army bands do.

What's that second tune? Is it 'Her bright smile haunts me still'? I have a version of that from Boosey & Sons in an old band series for the British Army.

were u guys at september storm by any chance? and well probably be at the mainstream one next year every one in the 24th is a bit dissapointed about that.

@DownPoorTube Google 26th NC Band

Great music! How can I get a CD?

GO TAR HEELS !!!!!

Samuel Mickey is in my genealogy.I descend from Moravian Hege family

I believe it's Lorena.

do you ever attend festivals or perform for schools?

Sorry, don't know. Maybe someone here can answer that

how would i get a hold of these guys if i was doing a film set in the Civil War era and needed them to be in it?

i'm from Lexington N.C and i was wondering are these ppl from here and if so where are they located bc i need info of southern songs to play my trumpet and info to show ppl that this is a southern state plz comment back thanks

Preservation of the Union was tantamount to the political views of the REPUBLICAN (Republic=Union) party as well as its founding party the Whigs/Federalists. It harkens back to the days of the Federal banking system vs state banks between Hamilton and Jefferson. The role of the Federal government goes back even further to the Whiskey Rebellion in Pennsylvania during Washington's administration and is mirrored in Franklin's Flag of the partioned snake and we hang together or most certainly apart.

how about video rather than slides? good sound!

Do you guys have a CD available for purchase? Thanks. Very well executed music.

I am quite biased against the Dixies and their modern day supporters but the music is just nice.

I wont to join this band i have a trumpet but i don't think they don't us trumpets.

Hi! Where could i get hold of the schore of the music? Need specifically for Brass-band.

I may very well be a dumbass Yankee..... But what is the name of that piece? That is some of the SWEETEST horn playing I have ever heard!

Whereabouts are you located as there are a few groups here in the north?

What is this song called? Its nice.

what song is this

Hungarian Music!

I can't help but notice that there are no black people voluntarily reliving the music of the confederacy.