Washington District of Columbia

Naval Gun Factory Band, 1906
Furnished by : John Sharp

This photo was taken to celebrate NGF's win in a band competition at Harrisburg PA.

In the 1906 photo, Joseph Kaufman identified band members as:

(Front Row Kneeling ) -
1, Chas. Hillengass, Trap Drum , Salesman;
2, Wm. C. Glasscok, Cornet, Navy Yard;
3, Peter Fox, Cornet, Navy Yard;
4, Otto C. Hauschild, Cornet, Police Dept;
5, Frank G. Schutt, Clarinet, Navy Yard;
6, Chas. Bryant, Clarinet, Navy Yard;
7, Anton Humm, Clarinet, Navy Yard;
8. Unknown, Piccolo, probably Service Band;
9, Wm. O. Little, Leader, Navy Yard;
10, T.A. Gilmore, Saxaphone, Outside.
Rear Row Standing
1, John O. Montague, Brass Drum, East Gun Carriage;
2, Harry Anderson, Solo Cornet, Navy Yard;
3, Henry Doolan, Cornet, Navy Yard;
4, Jacob G. Moody, Cornet, Navy Yard;
5, Joe Kaufman, Clarinet, East Gun Carriage;
6, Estabrook Frazier, Saxophone;
7, George Webber, French Horn, Navy Yard;
8. Unknown, French horn;
9, Albert Grosskurth, Barytone, East Gun Carriage;
10, Frank Davenport, Trombone, Army Band;
11, Unknown, Trombone;
12, .....Jackson, Trombone, Police Department;
13, Harry C. Brooks, Tuba, Navy Yard;
14, Stuart G. McAllister, Tuba, Navy Yard.

The Naval Gun Factory Band:
At 7:00 p.m. on the evening on 2 July 1904, a new sound was heard for the first time at the Washington Navy Yard's Naval Gun Factory. The air filled with music and the first of many open air concerts of the newly formed Naval Gun Factory Band (Washington Post, 2 July 1904, 9) began. That warm July evening the thirty-three member civilian band gave its first concert on the Navy Yard grounds at Leutze Park. The assembled crowd of workers, their families and nearby residents of Capitol Hill heard the band's newly learned renditions of the ’Waldmere Waltz”, the ’Cecilia Polka”, ’The Pioneer March”, and other popular favorites of the day.
The band was formed when several musically inclined Naval Gun Factory mechanics, employees of other government agencies, and some active service members decided to play together as the Naval Gun Factory Band. Joseph Kaufman, NGF machinist and veteran of that memorable evening spoke to a reporter in 1951 and remembered his time with the band.
’The Naval Gun Factory Band was organized in the summer of 1904, as nearly as I can place it. There had been talk of organizing a musical activity of some sort prior to that date but nothing concrete had been done about it. A new impetus was given by the arrival on the scene of a Mr. Charles Stanley, a retired minstrel man, who had entered the employ of the Navy Yard in the East Gun Carriage Shop. He had grown very much overweight and hoped to get back into good physical condition again. Mr. Stanley was a very thorough and scholarly musician and after exploring the possibilities among the Yard employees we soon had the nucleus of a band ready.
It became evident however that we were weak in some of the lead parts and we decided to look outside for additional recruits. We obtained some from the Government Printing Office, the police department, the Patent Office and few from private industry. We ordered marching uniforms, a bass drum and cymbals. (The members owned their own instruments with these exceptions.) We secured all the popular marches and easier concert numbers and worked industriously to perfect ourselves. By this time we had permission to hold our rehearsals after hours in the Sail Loft. This became our permanent head quarters and we afterwards gave a series of public dances during the winter season in the Sail Loft under proper authorization. We soon began to secure occasional marching jobs such as Washington Birthday, parades in Alexandria Fireman Conventions in Richmond, and Confederate Veterans Reunions in the Shenandoah Valley.
We played many summer evenings in the Band Stand inside the Navy Gate and frequently played concerts for Captain and Mrs. Pendleton on boat trips down the river when they were entertaining friends”.
(The Log, 15 September 1951, 11.)
For the next two decades the new NGF band continued to enjoy wide popularity. The band played and marched in parades, concerts and even played election night soirees throughout the capital region. The NGF Band was reformed in 1922 and that very same year the Department of Navy established the Washington Navy Yard Band composed exclusively of active duty sailors.
This new military band was later designated as the official U.S. Navy Band.
(Washington Post, 23 February 1906, 23 & 8 November 1905 Part 2, 1.)

For more on the NGF Band ,please see;
Sharp, John G. History of the Washington Navy Yard Civilian Workforce 1799 - 1962
Vindolanda Press, Stockton Ca 2005.
This history is now available in PDF form at the Naval Historical Center web page.
The NGF Band article is at Appendix E (p106 - 108).
http://www.history.navy.mil/books/sharp/WNY_History.pdf



This photo was taken to celebrate NGF's win in a band competition at Harrisburg PA.

In the 1906 photo, Joseph Kaufman identified band members as:
	(Front Row Kneeling ) - 1, Chas. Hillengass, Trap Drum , Salesman; 2, Wm. C. Glasscok, Cornet, Navy Yard; 3, Peter Fox, Cornet, Navy Yard; 4, Otto C. Hauschild, Cornet, Police Dept; 5, Frank G. Schutt, Clarinet, Navy Yard; 6, Chas. Bryant, Clarinet, Navy Yard; 7, Anton Humm, Clarinet, Navy Yard; 8. Unknown, Piccolo, probably Service Band; 9, Wm. O. Little, Leader, Navy Yard; 10, T.A. Gilmore, Saxaphone, Outside.	Rear Row Standing 1, John O. Montague, Brass Drum, East Gun Carriage; 2, Harry Anderson, Solo Cornet, Navy Yard; 3, Henry Doolan, Cornet, Navy Yard; 4, Jacob G. Moody, Cornet, Navy Yard; 5, Joe Kaufman, Clarinet, East Gun Carriage; 6, Estabrook Frazier, Saxophone; 7, George Webber, French Horn, Navy Yard; 8. Unknown, French horn; 9, Albert Grosskurth, Barytone, East Gun Carriage; 10, Frank Davenport, Trombone, Army Band; 11, Unknown, Trombone; 12, .....Jackson, Trombone, Police Department; 13, Harry C. Brooks, Tuba, Navy Yard; 14, Stuart G. McAllister, Tuba, Navy Yard.

The Naval Gun Factory Band: At 7:00 p.m. on the evening on 2 July 1904, a new sound was heard for the first time at the Washington Navy Yard's Naval Gun Factory. The air filled with music and the first of many open air concerts of the newly formed Naval Gun Factory Band (Washington Post, 2 July 1904, 9) began. That warm July evening the thirty-three member civilian band gave its first concert on the Navy Yard grounds at Leutze Park. The assembled crowd of workers, their families and nearby residents of Capitol Hill heard the band's newly learned renditions of the ’Waldmere Waltz”, the ’Cecilia Polka”, ’The Pioneer March”, and other popular favorites of the day. The band was formed when several musically inclined Naval Gun Factory mechanics, employees of other government agencies, and some active service members decided to play together as the Naval Gun Factory Band. Joseph Kaufman, NGF machinist and veteran of that memorable evening spoke to a reporter in 1951 and remembered his time with the band. ’The Naval Gun Factory Band was organized in the summer of 1904, as nearly as I can place it. There had been talk of organizing a musical activity of some sort prior to that date but nothing concrete had been done about it. A new impetus was given by the arrival on the scene of a Mr. Charles Stanley, a retired minstrel man, who had entered the employ of the Navy Yard in the East Gun Carriage Shop. He had grown very much overweight and hoped to get back into good physical condition again. Mr. Stanley was a very thorough and scholarly musician and after exploring the possibilities among the Yard employees we soon had the nucleus of a band ready. It became evident however that we were weak in some of the lead parts and we decided to look outside for additional recruits. We obtained some from the Government Printing Office, the police department, the Patent Office and few from private industry. We ordered marching uniforms, a bass drum and cymbals. (The members owned their own instruments with these exceptions.) We secured all the popular marches and easier concert numbers and worked industriously to perfect ourselves. By this time we had permission to hold our rehearsals after hours in the Sail Loft. This became our permanent head quarters and we afterwards gave a series of public dances during the winter season in the Sail Loft under proper authorization. We soon began to secure occasional marching jobs such as Washington Birthday, parades in Alexandria Fireman Conventions in Richmond, and Confederate Veterans Reunions in the Shenandoah Valley. We played many summer evenings in the Band Stand inside the Navy Gate and frequently played concerts for Captain and Mrs. Pendleton on boat trips down the river when they were entertaining friends”. (The Log, 15 September 1951, 11.) For the next two decades the new NGF band continued to enjoy wide popularity. The band played and marched in parades, concerts and even played election night soirees throughout the capital region. The NGF Band was reformed in 1922 and that very same year the Department of Navy established the Washington Navy Yard Band composed exclusively of active duty sailors. This new military band was later designated as the official U.S. Navy Band. (Washington Post, 23 February 1906, 23 & 8 November 1905 Part 2, 1.)