Armand Edward Blackmar, was born in Vermont in 1826, to parents Reuben Harmon and Amanda (Cushman) Blackmar. Armand, with his brother, Henry, was the founder of Blackmar Brothers, a
music publishing
A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music. Music publishers originally published sheet music. When copyright became legally protected, music publishers started to play a role in the management of the intellect ...
company. Begun in 1860, this publishing company was originally based out of
, and later
Augusta, Georgia
Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navig ...
. This would become the most successful publisher of music of the Confederacy during
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
, issuing about half the songs released during that era.
[pg. 226] A.E. was best known for the patriotic songs he wrote.
Armand and Henry were music teachers before entering the publishing business.
During the contentious Civil War years, Armand Edward also worked as a lawyer in New Orleans.
When Northern troops took over the city of New Orleans, Henry Blackmar moved the business to Augusta, while Armand — due to his Northern accent — managed to continue working out of New Orleans for a time, but a Union raid on his business forced him to cease working. He continued to live in Louisiana and published songs of his own, under a pseudonym, through his brother.
Blackmar's published work included, among others: ''
The Bonnie Blue Flag
"The Bonnie Blue Flag", also known as "We Are a Band of Brothers", is an 1861 marching song associated with the Confederate States of America. The words were written by the entertainer Harry McCarthy, with the melody taken from the song "The Iris ...
''; ''Dixie War Song'' (arranged and published); ''(State Song) Maryland! My Maryland!''; ''Southern Marseillaise''; and ''The Beauregard Manassas''.
Henry Blackmar continued to operate the Blackmar publishing house out of Augusta, Georgia, extending their distribution chain throughout the South. Following the Civil War, Armand continued to publish music and sell it in several sites in the United States. He returned to New Orleans and re-opened a music store there. His brother Henry operated a music store of his own that was also located in New Orleans.
In 1881 and 1882, A.E. Blackmar created
Blackmar's Gambit, a
chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...
opening
Opening may refer to:
* Al-Fatiha, "The Opening", the first chapter of the Qur'an
* The Opening (album), live album by Mal Waldron
* Backgammon opening
* Chess opening
* A title sequence or opening credits
* , a term from contract bridge
* , ...
, and published his work in the July 1882 issue of ''
Brentano’s Chess''.
[Chess.com](_blank)
/ref>
Armand died on 28 October 1888,ancestry.com
/ref> several years after returning to New Orleans.
Armand Edward Blackmar was married to Margaret Bridget Meara of New Orleans, Louisiana.
References
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*
*
External links
*Sheet music fo
"Beauregard Manassas Quick-step."
Augusta, GA: Blackmar & Bro., 1861, from th
Confederate Imprints Sheet Music Collection
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackmar, Armand
American music publishers (people)
Businesspeople from New Orleans
1826 births
1888 deaths
19th-century American businesspeople
American chess players