Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore

Among the songs composed by this Irish-American bandmaster were "Freedom on the Old Plantation," "The Spirit of the North," and "When Johnny Comes Marching Home." Gilmore's Grand Boston Band, which he organized, enlisted in the Union Army during the American Civil War. When he had finished service in this respect he began a number of large-scale concerts toward the aim of peace: the first being the National Peace Jubilee. Audiences and seating capacities were astounding as were the size of his orchestras. A chorus of 10,000 alone was conducted by Ole Bull with 200 violinists. The World Peace Jubilee of 1872 obtained a chorus of 20,000 and an orchestra of 2,000 while 100 firemen struck actual anvils during the performance of Verdi's "Anvil Chorus." Gilmore lost control of the orchestra and chorus; accordingly, he employed the use of electronically controlled cannons, which were pre-set for the concert as part of the musical arrangement, to surpress the confusion. This was an effectual adaptation he first used in a massive band festival in New Orleans in 1864. ~ Keith Johnson