The Macungie Band was founded in March of 1855 under the name of Millerstown Brass Band. Founding members were local residents Henry Hangen, Harrison Miller, Henry Neumeyer, and Peter J. Weiler. Twenty men signed the original By-Laws dated April 12, 1855. Their names were, in order of signing: James Singmaster, J. Peter Haas, Harrison Miller, Monroe Miller, Tilghman H. Schmoyer, Edwin Singmaster, Henry G. Hangen, P. S. Leisenring, Henry Neumeyer, Charles Swenk, J. T. Kuder, Thomas Christman, Henry S. Tool (?), James F. Mertz, W. B. Erdman, F. Schulz, Peter J. Weiler, Edward Diehl, Alexander Weaver, and James Christman.

Instruments were purchased from Klemm and Brother of Philadelphia, and it appears that the initial selection of instruments was a ‘game of grab’. O. P. Knauss reports: “On a mild and pleasant evening the horns were laid on the windows around the room of the old school house on School alley, and the members were called on to select their instruments. ... The finely polished horns were “a thing of beauty and a joy forever”, to those who were present at the school house.” The first regular uniforms of the band were of the long dress pattern militia style, made from heavy gray cloth, and according to O. P. Knauss: “Practice was assiduously prosecuted and within a reasonable time good results were obtained.”

Frederick T. Iobst of Emmaus, who at that time had acquired a reputation as a skilled musician, was hired as the first director. He was succeeded by Professor John Hook of Reading, Frederick Benkhardt of Allentown, and George Douglass, a leading member of Beck’s Famous Band of Philadelphia. Knauss writes: “The band was very diligent and persevering in practicing. They met for rehearsal almost every evening. Later they ceased to meet in the school house and practiced in the tinsmith shop then standing where the [Boyko Funeral Home] now stands.” In 1861, local musician Peter J. Weiler assumed the leadership, and under his direction, the band achieved an excellent reputation.

In his 1932 History of Macungie, Knauss published the following account: “The first venture of the band to play on the street, was on a dark and warm summer night, several months after its organization. It was quite an event for the village. No previous announcement had been made, so that the people were taken by surprise. They played piece ‘No. 1’, which was a poor apology for music. It is doubtful whether any note smaller than half occurred in the composition. But the effort was a stride forward.”

“The first appearance of the band, if recollection serves right, was for probably what was the first Sunday School picnic in Millerstown. The Lutheran and Reformed Sunday School of Solomon’s church made a picnic in the woods back of Henry Ricker’s, on the hill, and the band was employed. It was a great event and the attendance was very large. …”

“By persistent practice and frequent rehearsals the Millerstown Band improved rapidly, and in a few years, it had in its musical repertory a large selection of a higher grade of music than piece No. 1. They had pieces which, if played with reasonable skill, would not be out of place on any public occasion, and at the end of two or three years, could hold its own against any of the country bands.”

On July 31, 1861, the War Department issued General Order No. 48 authorizing military bands of 16 to 24 musicians for each Union volunteer regiment; and on August 19, the Secretary of War issued an order calling upon the governors of all Northern States to “send immediately to Washington all regiments and parts of regiments in their respective states”. As a result, several members of the Millerstown Band started a movement to answer Abraham Lincoln's call, and on November 8, 1861, the Millerstown Band was mustered, as a unit, into the 54th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry for a three-year tour of duty. Regimental band members included: Edward Diehl and John W. Bauer, E flat cornets; William A. Rems, B flat cornet; Monroe H. Miller, Henry B. Creitz, and John Haines, altos; Christian Dankel, Samuel E. Oswald, and Alexander Weaver, tenors; Samuel F. Creitz, baritone; Franklin Christman and John Hamburg, bass; William Miller, snare drum; and Franklin Mertz, cymbals. Peter J. Weiler was named Band Leader and Edwin H. Lorrish was employed as cook. In order to bolster its numbers of eligible musicians, Henry and Samuel Creitz, Oswald, and Hamburg had been recruited from Lynn Township, with Bauer coming from Oley Township. Pennsylvania state regimental records also record the name of Alfred Miller, although his area of participation in the band is unknown. O. P. Knauss reports: “A large crowd of citizens were at the railroad station to bid them good-bye, and as was quite natural and proper under the circumstances, the wives and female relatives were very much affected and indulged their sadness in tears. It was one of the most important events in the history of the village.”

The 54th Regiment PVI trained at Camp Curtin in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, until February of 1862. On February 27, 1862, the Regiment was ordered to Washington, and upon its arrival, went into camp near Bladensburg Cemetery. Then on March 29, the regiment was ordered to Harper's Ferry, where it was dispersed along the line of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad at the beginning of General George B. McClellan's Peninsular campaign. The 54th PVI was attached to the Railroad Brigade, Middle Department, with regimental headquarters established at Great Cacapon, and later at Sir John's Run, along the Potomac River, in Morgan County, Virginia (now West Virginia).

Military brass bands played a significant role in the life of the common soldier. They were the pride of their units, and it was acknowledged by the military staff that these bands provided the morale boosting so badly needed by the army. Bands found their services much in demand for concerts, playing for troops on the march, and playing for ceremonies and various civic functions. Although bandsmen were considered noncombatants, duties often included battlefield chores of serving as stretcher bearers and assisting in medical operations.

By early 1862, however, the Federal government, experiencing financial difficulties brought on by the ever expanding war, soon realized it could no longer support the multitude of bands at the regimental level. On July 29, 1862, the War Department issued General Order No. 91 directing the Union Army to discontinue use of  regimental bands within 30 days as a cost-cutting measure. As a result, the 54th PVI Band members were mustered out of service on August, 29, 1862, and they returned to Millerstown in September. O. P. Knauss reports: “The members seemed to have agreed not to send any notice ahead of their coming; and our people were very much surprised one afternoon, to see the band arrive at home, most of us thinking that it had come home on furlough. It was a pathetic and memorable scene when the band struck up ‘Home Again’ on its arrival, especially to the relatives and friends of the members”. After returning to Millerstown, several members of the band were later drafted or enlisted into volunteer service with other units of the Union Army.

William A. Rems was probably the last Millerstown Band member to serve as a musician with the Union Army. He was mustered, as a musician, into the 199th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment on September 17, 1864, and was with the Army of the Potomac at the surrender of General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. His February 1929 obituary reports: "On that memorable occasion [of Lee's Surrender], he played the cornet at the head of his regiment. He was also included among the forces which marched into Richmond, the Confederate capitol, after the surrender of the southern forces. During this parade, he played again at the head of the Union forces." Rems was mustered out of service on June 28, 1865.

	Peter John Weiler (1825-1906) R. W. Wint, Allentown circa 1890 Macungie Historical Society Collection

“By Laws ”, Millerstown Brass Band, April 12th, 1855;

“Macungie Band Celebrating 100th Anniversary ”. Allentown: Sunday Call-Chronicle, March 6, 1955;

Matthews, Richard E. Lehigh County Pennsylvania in the Civil War. Lehighton: The Times News Printing, 1989;

Miller, William J. The Training of an Army; Camp Curtin and the North's Civil War. Shippensburg: White Mane Publishing Company, 1990.

Roberts, Charles Rhoads, et al. History of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. 3 vols. Allentown: Lehigh County Historical Society, 1914.

Supplement to the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Wilmington, NC: Broadfoot Publishing Company, 1998.