THE CIVIL WAR BUGLE
Bugle calls told troops when to go to bed, when to wake up, when to eat, when to attack and when to retreat. There were stable calls, water calls, drill calls, sick calls and church calls on Sunday.
The battlefields of the Civil war could quickly become a very confused place. With cannon and muskets roaring it was very difficult to hear commands. It was at times like these that the presence of a unit bugler could mean the difference between order and absolute chaos for a commander. Each infantryman was trained to not only perform to verbal commands but those of the bugle. In the thick of battle the sound of the bugle could often be a soldiers only comfort in an otherwise frightening storm.
Fun Fact: "In the winter, one of the favorite tricks that the soldiers would play on the bugler was to put water in his bugle at night and let it freeze. The next morning the bugler would be unable to blow reveille until he thawed out his bugle." |
