Boston Brigade Band

The Boston Brigade Band (1821-ca.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 wind instruments.

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, ca.1859); and E.H. Weston (ca.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.

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