Civil War Military funerals

[Yankeeboy]

Fellow Comrade :

Can anyone tell me or Have any info on Military funerals .
We are looking at honoring one of our Civil War Vets and I would like to do this the right way :)
Waiting for your humble repilies

[RyanBWeddle]

Re: Civil War Military funerals

Check out a copy of the 1861 U.S. Regulations...

pp. 41-46 Art. XXIX - Honors to be paid by the troops

I believe the Regs are online in a few places, do some searching and you should be able to find out the proper info...

[ThehosGendar]

Re: Civil War Military funerals

Speaking for the band/field music, the funeral detail would approach the gravesite at the slow step, playing a dirge or air. There are five unnamed funeral marches written in Bruce and Emmett, though Pleyel's Hymn is often quoted. I believe that can be found in Howe's manual.

In "Ten Years in the Ranks" by Augustus Meyers, he describes that the detachment marched at the slow march to the cemetery, then broke cadence to the route step until they reached the grave. A rifle salute was given, and the detail marched off to the music once they left the cemetery. Bruce and Emmett describes it as, "After having deposited the body in its final resting place, and the Escort have done firing the customary salute over the grave, the musicians will not play again until outside of the enclousure- when they will strike up a lively air; the 'Merry Men Home From the Grave' being considered the most appropriate."

Meyers decribes funerals being a common occurence on Governor's Island, and especially so during his service out west on the frontier in the late 1850s, with him having to serve as music for one or two services per day.

[markj]

Re: Civil War Military funerals

Hi,

Please refer to my article in the Winter 2004 "Watchdog": "Performing Reverse-ARMS and Rest on-ARMS: New Evidence from Civil War-era Sources." This discusses a variety of newly-discovered ways to reverse and rest on arms that break these down into their component motions (something NOT done in the U.S. or C.S. regulations).

If you have any trouble obtaining the above article, please contact me privately at: markj@purdue.edu

Regards,

Mark Jaeger

[James Brenner]

Re: Civil War Military funerals

This passage is from the recentlly published book, Burning Rails as We Pleased, the Civil War Letters of William G. Bentley, 104th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, ISBN 0-7864-1659-9.

Feb 21st 1863...About noon yesterday the Captain came up to quarters and told us to be ready to fall-in in 20 min. with guns and traps to go to town ... found out it was to attend the funeral of Hon. James Harlan, U.S. District Attorney for the State of KY and I believe at one time Attorney General of the States. There were four companies from each of the 3 infantry regiments. We marched to town and were drawn up in line of battle before his late residence. Where we stood for some time, we were moved presently, in front of the church where the funeral sermon was to be delivered and we stacked arms and broke ranks. In about an hour we fell-in and marched in front of the hearse with reversed arms. A splendid brass band played "The Dead March from Saul", a splendid piece of music. We marched up to the cemetary and stood in line of battle with "present arms" till the procession passed. When they had passed we rested "on arms" while the Masonic Ceremony was performed ... We marched about 9 miles altogether and mud all the way, several inches deep.