Members of the 46th Regiment band are pictured marching with the Federal City Brass band in Washington D.C. The Altoona-based band is set to participate in the 2026 Memorial Day Parade in Washington, D.C. commemorating America’s 250th birthday. Courtesy photo

During the American Civil War, military bands, such as the 46th Pennsylvania Regiment, were renowned for inspiring patriotism among soldiers.

They were also one of the first five groups to answer President Abraham Lincoln’s call for troops at the beginning of the war, according to band director Tracy Collins Baker.

About 164 years later, the Altoona-based band is set to participate in the 2026 Memorial Day Parade, commemorating America’s 250th birthday in Washington, D.C.

As a 40-piece band, members will wear Union uniforms while playing Civil War music using period brass instruments or replicas.

“The 46th’s appearance in this once-in-a-lifetime event will be our way of honoring the thousands of Civil War soldiers who fought and died in that tragic time,” according to the band’s GoFundMe post.

Looking back

Collins Baker said the original 46th Pennsylvania Regiment band didn’t have a “standard makeup” because its musicians were recruited from the Birdsboro Community Band in Berks County.

They still maintained soldier morale throughout the war, marching with troops in the “dirt and mud,” she said.

While the band has existed since the Civil War, she said the current group was formed in 1995.

Known as an educational, nonprofit 501(c)(3) group, volunteers visit schools, partake in discussions, engage in reenactments and march in parades to preserve a part of America’s history.

They also use Civil War-era instruments such as saxhorns, cornets and over-the-shoulder horns, tuba player Joel Cribbs said.

Military bands marched before troops, he said, so the instruments’ horns faced backward so the soldiers could hear the music.

Band membership isn’t exclusive to Blair County — many individuals come from all over the country.

Cribbs is from Latrobe and is currently planning the 2026 trip to Washington, D.C., for the Memorial Parade.

Marching forward

About three months ago, the 46th Pennsylvania Regiment and Mon Valley Academy of the Arts were set to participate in the parade together through a touring company, Cribbs said.

At the time, Mon Valley was going to fundraise for touring costs, but after they backed out, Cribbs said the band was left to cover their own fees.

“I sent letters, I wrote 200 letters to every state representative I could think of” to register the band, Cribbs said.

One month ago, Seth Nichols, parade organizer at the American Veterans Center, called Cribbs, asking for the 46th Pennsylvania Band’s presence next year.

Nichols said the band was “exactly what they were looking for,” Cribbs said, because they are the only Civil War band set to perform in the parade.

“It’s not that often that people will hold and play 100-plus-year-old instruments,” band President Rick Long said.

Raising funds

The 46th Pennsylvania Regiment set their fundraiser goal for $15,000 to cover transportation and hotel costs. They currently have $650 raised on

gofundme.com

“We hope to do a lot better,” Long said, and they continue to ask for donations.

Collins Baker hoped people would donate “because they value history, and they’re proud of the contribution of our history now.”

“I just hope people see the value in what we do and what we have to contribute,” she said.

“We’re representing the Commonwealth” in a national parade, Cribbs said, “and we have a strong belief in education.”

Mirror Staff Writer Colette Costlow is at 814-946-7414.