Civil War music, history presented in Peters Township
Harry Funk / The Almanac
Mark Kinan describes his musical jawbone as Mike Fisher enjoys the story.
Harry Funk / The Almanac
“Yankee Drummer” Jim Smith describes the travels his drum has taken during the past century and a half.
Harry Funk / The Almanac
Bill Kistler, left, and Harry Fisher are the longest-serving members of Acoustic Shadows of the Blue and Gray.
Harry Funk / The Almanac
Peter Guibert’s drum made it through the Civil War and two walks from Pittsburgh to Gettysburg.
Harry Funk / The Almanac
From left are Mark Kinan, Mike Fisher and Bill Kistler.
Harry Funk / The Almanac
Bill Kistler is one of the founding members of Acoustic Shadows of the Blue and Gray.
Harry Funk / The Almanac
Jim Smith talks about Peter Guibert’s drum.
Harry Funk / The Almanac
Mark Kinan, left, and Mike Fisher
By Harry Funk/Staff writer/hfunk@thealmanac.net
From left are Mark Kinan, Mike Fisher, Bill Kistler and Harry Fisher.
Harry Funk / The Almanac
Harry Fisher of Dawson, Fayette County, performs on banjo.
Harry Funk / The Almanac
Bill Kistler, left, and Harry Fisher
Harry Funk / The Almanac
Mike Fisher of Monessen represents the “Gray.”
During an afternoon of music featuring a variety of instruments, including a percussive jawbone, a historic military drum was one of the stars of the show.
For a special holiday program, Peters Township Public Library hosted a recent concert by Acoustic Shadows of the Blue and Gray, a four-piece ensemble specializing in tunes from the Civil War era.
“Their music is entertainment, essential to the morale of the troops,” musician and historian Jim Smith, a guest of the band, told the capacity crowd at the library. “I mean, you couldn’t stream live music. You couldn’t pick it up off the internet. If you wanted to entertain, you had to do it yourself.”
Acoustic Shadows of the Blue and Gray performs traditional music focusing primarily on the era of the American Civil War.
An “acoustic shadow” is a phenomenon in which a sound such as the thunder of artillery during a battle can be heard clearly far in the distance and yet be unheard by observers closer to the source.
The group started when Bill Kistler and former member Greg Adams started playing together after church for fun and enjoyment. Shortly after, they met a Civil War re-enactor Harry Fisher, who got them interested in playing music of that era.
For more information, visit facebook.com/AcousticShadowsofTheBlueandGray.
Smith, a Westmoreland County resident known as the Yankee Drummer, contrasted that aspect with the role of the percussion instrument he brought with him.
“Prior to the Civil War, the drum was essential upon the field of battle to relay orders and commands,” he explained. “It was essential in camp to do the wakeup call in the morning and taps at night.”
His drum actually reverberated to perform such tasks, and it actually did so during the Civil War, at the hands of a young member of the 74th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry.
“Peter Guibert was 17 when he enlisted with the 74th in 1861,” Smith said. “This is the drum that was issued to him. He used it throughout the war.”
Smith acquired Guibert’s drum in the 1980s and since has kept it maintained and in working condition, even through an adventure he undertook four years ago in connection with the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg.
For the 50th anniversary, he had learned, veterans of the battle traveled, mostly by complimentary trips on trains, for a reunion at the site. Guibert was among those who attended, but as Smith related:
By Harry Funk
Staff writer
hfunk@thealmanac.net
Acoustic Shadows of the Blue and Gray perform “Away In A Manger”
“Peter, as near as we can tell, being a stubborn Dutchman, said, ‘Boy, if they take the train, I’m going to march.’ So he did. He marched from Pittsburgh to Gettysburg,” drum in tow, of course.
As the latter-day owner of that particular drum, Smith decided to follow in Guibert’s footsteps.
“It took many trips to historical societies and libraries like this, searching 1913 newspapers,” Smith said. “And we found clippings that described Peter being in such and such a place, and entertaining schoolchildren on the route with his drum. So that established the protocol for what we needed to do.”
Because Guibert departed for Gettysburg on May 26, Smith figured he could do the same and arrive in plenty of time for the battle’s sesquicentennial on July 1.
“Unfortunately, we found a newspaper clipping from the Gettysburg Times of June 13, 1913, and it announced that Peter Guibert had arrived in Gettysburg after having marched the 200 miles from Pittsburgh, and he had arrived that morning and played a short concert at the city hotel,” Smith recalled. “That really threw a monkey wrench into the plan, because I was looking forward to a nice, leisurely walk.”
By Harry Funk
Staff writer
hfunk@thealmanac.net
Acoustic Shadows of the Blue and Gray performs “The Battle of Shiloh Hill.”
He and trek companion Ray Zimmerman, the counterpart of a gentleman named John Conroy who accompanied Guibert, completed the journey bearing a logo for the adventured designed by one of the members of the Acoustic Shadows of the Blue and Gray.
Mark Kinan of West Mifflin, a graphic designer as well as a musician who invited Smith to the library event, is joined in the ensemble by founders Bill Kistler of California on guitar and Harry Fisher of Dawson on banjo. Rounding out the quartet is guitarist Mike Fisher of Monessen, Harry’s nephew.
The band performed songs that would have been played in the 1860s, including several by Lawrenceville native Stephen Collins Foster, interspersed with traditional holiday numbers.
Kinan plays harmonica and percussion, with one of his instruments being the quijada, which originated from Africans who were brought to the Americas during the Colonial era. It is the jawbone of a donkey.
“Last year, on the very last note of the very last song, my dear jawbone, Tessie, split right up here at the top,” he announced. “I understand there was a curse that happened at that point that is only lifted when a new jawbone replaces it. So consider it lifted.”