Civil War Week: 1st Brigade Band

In 1864, eighteen men from Brodhead enlisted in the Union Army as the band of the 1^st Brigade. Today, the sights and sounds of that original band live on in a modern 1^st Brigade Band, the oldest recreated Civil War brass band in the country. Member and former band leader Dan Woolpert shares their story.

This story commemorates Wisconsin’s role in the Civil War on its 150^th anniversary. Learn more about the 1^st Brigade Band.

Erika Janik

Erika Janik is the co-creator and former executive director of Wisconsin Life. She is the author of six books, including Pistols and Petticoats: 175 Years of Lady Detectives in Fact and Fiction, Apple: A Global History, and  Marketplace of the Marvelous: The Strange Origins of Modern Medicine. She’s currently the executive...