Edwin Eugene Bagley (May 29, 1857January 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 A national flag is a flag that represents ...

''. 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 (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

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

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony) * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

. In 1880, he came to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

as a solo cornet player at The Park Theater. For nine years, he traveled with

the Bostonians ''The Bostonians'' is a novel by Henry James, first published as a serial in '' The Century Magazine'' in 1885–1886 and then as a book in 1886. This bittersweet tragicomedy centres on an odd triangle of characters: Basil Ransom, a political c ...

, an opera company. While with this company, he changed from cornet to

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

. He also performed with the Germania Band of Boston and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In the early 1900s he played with Wheeler's Band in Bellows Falls, Vermont. Wheeler's Band was the first band 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 national "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which diff ...

and in particular for the famous march ''

''. This piece is played as a

patriotic Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...

tune on Independence Day celebrations in the United States and features an excerpt of "

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 on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the b ...

". 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, and the seat of Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 23,047 at the 2020 census, down from 23,409 at the 2010 census. Keene is home to Keene State College and Antioch University New England. I ...

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 first trumpet in the Boston Symphony Orchestra 1880-1884 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