The School of Practice (School of Practice for U.S.A. Field Musicians) at Fort Columbus

Fort Columbus

Fort Columbus was a fortification and army post in Governors Island, New York Harbor, New York City, New York, from 1806 to 1904.-Fort Jay:Fort Columbus was the name of a fortification and later the army post that developed around it...

, Governors Island

Governors Island

Governors Island is a island in Upper New York Bay, approximately one-half mile from the southern tip of Manhattan Island and separated from Brooklyn by Buttermilk Channel. It is legally part of the borough of Manhattan in New York City...

, in New York Harbor

New York Harbor

New York Harbor refers to the waterways of the estuary near the mouth of the Hudson River that empty into New York Bay. It is one of the largest natural harbors in the world. Although the U.S. Board of Geographic Names does not use the term, New York Harbor has important historical, governmental,...

 was the United States Army's institute for musical training before and during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. Much of the historical documentation of the School comes from Ten Years in the Ranks, U.S. Army, a book written by Augustus Meyers

Augustus Meyers

Augustus Meyers was an American soldier during the Civil War, best known for writing Ten Years in the Ranks, U.S. Army, an account of his life in the military. The book is an important historical document, containing many unique descriptions of practices that would otherwise be unknown...

 after enlisting at age twelve in the 1850s. The first part deals with the School of Practice. The official training guide, adopted by the War Department

United States Department of War

The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...

, was George G. Bruce

George G. Bruce

George G. Bruce was an American drum major during the Civil War, best known for co-writing The Drummer's and Fifer's Guide with Daniel Decatur Emmett. The Guide was published in 1862, and remains well known as a source for music for the fife and drum. Bruce was a player of the drums, banjo, violin...

's The Drummers and Fife Guide, which was used until the end of the Civil War.

The school appears to be one of two that were established at Fort Columbus and Newport Barracks

Newport Barracks

Newport Barracks was a military barracks on the Ohio River, across from Cincinnati, Ohio in Newport, Kentucky. It was operational from 1803 until 1894.-History:In 1803, James Taylor Jr. solicited the help of his cousin, James Madison, who was then U.S...

, Kentucky in the later 1830s. Both posts were the eastern and western recruiting centers for the U.S. Army infantry. Little more is known about the school at Newport Barracks.

The school was housed in a former fortification and battery called South Battery which was constructed prior to the War of 1812. From about 1836 to about 1878, musicians at the school, typically teenaged boys, orphaned or with few occupational prospects, lived in small rooms with double bunk beds, consisting of large bags filled with straw. Meals consisted of stapes like rice or bean soup, bread, potatoes, boiled salt beef or pork, and coffee. Enlistees earned seven dollars a month, for training six days a week.

By the late 1870s, Fort Columbus was designated as a major army headquarters, bringing numerous generals to the post. To serve their needs South Battery was converted into an officers mess. The music school was relocated to a barracks at Fort Jay

Fort Jay

Fort Jay is a harbor fortification and the name of the former Army post located on Governors Island in New York Harbor. Fort Jay is the oldest defensive structure on the island, built to defend Upper New York Bay, but has served other purposes...

, another fortification a couple of hundred yards away also on Governors Island

Governors Island

Governors Island is a island in Upper New York Bay, approximately one-half mile from the southern tip of Manhattan Island and separated from Brooklyn by Buttermilk Channel. It is legally part of the borough of Manhattan in New York City...

. By the 1880s, the historical record of the school disappears.