The Wildcat Regiment Band
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The Regimental Band of the 105th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry
Bruno J. Pino, Bandmaster

The Original Band

Like their brothers in arms, the members of the Wildcat Band were swept up in the wave of patriotism enveloping the United States, both North and South, in 1861. During that same year in Pennsylvania, the men of the "Wildcat" legislative district of Indiana, Jefferson, Clarion, Clearfield, and Westmoreland Counties answered their country’s call to arms and joined the standard of the 105th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, the "Wildcat" Regiment.
These musicians were average men who came from small towns, assorted professions, and from all walks of life. They were laborers, farmers, storekeepers, and teachers, yet they fueled the esprit de corps for the first long year of the Civil War. Their music provided fervor before a charge and quiet comfort during war’s anguish. Though mustered as a bandsman, a musician served a dual role: he often was required to put down his instrument and pick up a stretcher and tend to his wounded or dying comrade.
Bandleaders John C. Smith of Indiana, Pennsylvania and John T. Strattan of Strattanville, Pennsylvania recruited the Band. The Wildcats were fortunate to attract the services of “Professor” Smith, who enlisted with several members of the civilian Indiana Brass Band. The heritage of the Wildcat Regiment Band is grounded in the early history of the Indiana Brass Band. The pride of Indiana County, this band had been in existence since 1842 and was highly regarded for the ability of its members.
The original Wildcat Band served faithfully from September 1861 until August 1862, when General Order No. 91 discharged all regimental bands.

The Band Today:

The Wildcat Band today is comprised of musicians of all ages and from various professional backgrounds. Like their predecessors, the current bandsmen have been recruited from the same geographical area in Western Pennsylvania and come from all walks of life. Duplicating the original 24-man roster of the band, today's Wildcat Band is comprised of sections of E-flat cornets, B-flat cornets, E-flat Altos, B-flat tenors and baritones, E-flat basses, and percussion. The bandmaster is Bruno J. Pino, the Principal Musician is Donald Amendt, the band's Sergeant Major is Sherman Good, and the 1st Sergeant is J. R. McFerron.
The Wildcat Band has performed for historic and civic events throughout the eastern United States. National Park Service engagements include regular visits to Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Harpers Ferry, Manassas, and Monocacy. The Wildcats perform extensively in Western Pennsylvania and at musical festivals and other events in towns such as Bethlehem and Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and Wheeling, West Virginia. The band has been invited to perform in the Governor's Residence in Harrisburg as well as the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. The Wildcats have been fortunate to participate in musical events at the Smithsonian Institution and the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. The band also performs at 19th century balls, dances, and cotillions, and conducts lectures and demonstrations that address the history of the 19th century brass band movement and the evolution of brass instruments.

The Instruments

The cornets and saxhorns played by the Wildcat Band today were the same instruments that were in service during battle and dress parades in 1861. All of the horns played date from the Civil War era, some as early as 1850. Restored with the skill of a true craftsman, these instruments are once again playing the melodies heard more than a century ago.

The Music

Much of regimental band music that was performed had its roots in the small town “cornet bands” of the 19th century. It was natural for their music to accompany the bandsmen as they filled the ranks of the regimental band. Quicksteps, ballads, overtures and marches played by The Wildcat Regiment Band today are the same musical pieces that once touched the lives of soldiers and civilians, providing comfort, encouragement and a spirit of patriotism. Many of these original 19th century arrangements have been taken from band books found in the archives of the Smithsonian Institution and the Library of Congress, as well as from private collections.

The Uniforms

From brass buttons and simple hand stitching, to wooden pegged brogans, the Wildcat Regiment Band brings authenticity in dress and manner. The band’s uniforms, sewn from natural wool fibers are authentic in every detail, and have been patterned from actual specimens worn by Pennsylvania bandsmen in the Union army. This authenticity in dress presents the audience with the most accurate appearance possible...next to actually living during the 1860’s.