Reference

Musicians were often given special privileges. Union general Phillip Sheridan gave his cavalry bands the best horses and special uniforms, believing "Music has done its share, and more than its share, in winning this war". Musicians on the battlefield were drummers and buglers, with an occasional fifer. Buglers had to learn forty-nine separate

Musicians were often given special privileges. Union general Phillip Sheridan gave his cavalry bands the best horses and special uniforms, believing "music has done its share, and more than its share, in winning this war". [ 9 ]

Musicians enjoyed no more privileges than the common soldier. Initially, the rank of "musician" in Northern armies was comparable to that of private and was viewed negatively by many. ... In the South, musicians were generally assigned a somewhat more valuable status and were paid twelve dollars a month, ... 6 The Union army was organized into