Edwin Eugene Bagley (May 29, 1857 – January 29, 1922) was an American composer most famous for composing the march ''

National Emblem A national emblem is an emblem or seal that is reserved for use by a nation state or multi-national state as a symbol of that nation. Many nations have a seal or emblem in addition to a national flag. Other national symbols, such as national ...

''. Bagley was born in

Craftsbury, Vermont Craftsbury is a town in Orleans County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,343 at the 2020 census. The town includes the unincorporated villages of Craftsbury, Craftsbury Common, Mill Village, and East Craftsbury. History The state ...

on May 29, 1857. He began his music career at the age of nine as a vocalist and comedian with Leavitt's Bellringers, a company of entertainers that toured many of the larger cities of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He began playing the

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. There is also a soprano cor ...

, traveling with the Swiss Bellringers for six years. After his touring days, he joined Blaisdell's Orchestra of Concord,

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. In 1880, he came to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

as a solo cornet player at The Park Theater. For nine years, he traveled with the Bostonians, an opera company. While with this company, he changed from cornet to

trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...

. He also performed with the Germania Band of Boston and the

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five (orchestras), Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in ...

. In the early 1900s he played with Wheeler's Band in Bellows Falls, Vermont. Wheeler's Band was the first to publicly perform Bagley's "National Emblem March" in 1906. Edwin Eugene Bagley is best known for composing

marches In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a state's "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which diffe ...

, particularly the famous march ''

''. This piece is played as a

patriotic Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and a sense of attachment to one's country or state. This attachment can be a combination of different feelings for things such as the language of one's homeland, and its ethnic, cultural, politic ...

tune on

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...

celebrations in the United States and features an excerpt from "

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written by American lawyer Francis Scott Key on September 14, 1814, after he witnessed the bombardment of Fort ...

". It is also used by the U.S. military when presenting and retiring the colors. A theme from this march is popularly sung with the words "and the monkey wrapped his tail around the flagpole". Bagley died in

Keene, New Hampshire Keene is a city in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 23,047 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 23,409 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is the county seat and the only city in ...

, on January 29, 1922.

Bagley's Marches

*L'Agresseur (The Aggressor) March (1915) *America Victorious *American Salute *Arbitrator March (1908) *Bagley's Imperial March (1901) *Col. Estey March (1908) *Counselor March (1917) *Father of His Country March (1931) *Federation March *Front Section March (1909) *Holy Cross Commandery March (1902) *Knight Templar March (1911) *March Imperial *The Morning Light March (1900) *

(1906) *Our Republic March (1908) *Patriot March (1902) *Post 68 G.A.R. (1902) *Regent March *Royal March (1902) Edwin was married to Jannette S. Hoyt (1855–1927). His brother Ezra M. Bagley (January 3, 1853 – July 8, 1886) was the first trumpeter in the

from 1880 to 1884 and also composed marches for bands. Edwin died at the Elliot Community Hospital in Keene, New Hampshire, and is buried at the Greenlawn Cemetery in Keene. The Victorian Bandstand in Keene is named in his honor.

References

*Bridges, Glenn. Pioneers in Brass. Detroit: Sherwood Publications, 1965. (Information on his brother Ezra) *Rehrig, William H. The Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music. Westerville, Ohio: Integrity Press, vol. 1 (1991) and vol. 3 supplement (1996) *Bellows Falls Vermont Historical Society Records.

External links

*AllMusi

* *Find a Grav

*Internet Movie Databas

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bagley, Edwin Eugene 1857 births 1922 deaths 19th-century American composers 19th-century American male musicians 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians American male composers March musicians Musicians from Vermont People from Craftsbury, Vermont

Bagley's Marches

See also

References

External links