I realized that the newsgroup that had the discussion of Bowering was this
one ...in April of 02. here's the copy of the article that was posted at that
time.

"Detested 'Dixie' often required of Rebel bugler."Summary:Andrew Benjamin
Bowering (1842-1923) was reared in Fredericksburg VA from early childhood.
At the opening of the Civil War, he joined the Confederate Army and served as
musician and bugler with the 30th Virginia Infantry, Corses Brigade,
Pickett's Division.  Interviewed for the"Dictionary of Virginia Biography,"
Bowering, who had marched with Lee'sArmy of Northern Virginia for four years,
recalled the two highlights of his musical army life.  (1) Directing of the
band at Stonewall Jackson's funeral in Richmond in May 1863, where the band
performed Handel's "Dead March from Saul; and 2) blowing the last assembly
call at Appomattox.Bowering went on to explain to the interviewer the
westward march toward Appomattox, during which the band was almost captured
by the Union troops.  Upon seeing Yankee officers and soldiers come through
Confederate lines under a flag of truce early on the morning of April 9th and
realizing that the war was over, Bowering hung his bugle on a treelimb and
walked away from it.  Shortly a Confederate officer asked him to blow the
call for religious services.  Bowering said, "That assembly call, which I
played, was the last note that I played in the war."  The recent article
states that most authorities now recognize that Bowering's last Confederate
bugle call was the final one blown at Appomattox.After the Army's surrender,
Bowering walked home to Fredericksburg,VA,only to find that his family had
left there for Salisbury, NC.  He went to Salisbury and for a while remained
there with his family, living by teaching music and doing odd jobs.  He and
his family left in August 1865 to return to Fredericksburg, VA.He was
frequently seen in later years at reunions of the United Confederate Veterans
in many areas of the South, where he conducted the band music but didn't
"play" Dixie unless forced to.  He explained that he had always disliked
"Dixie," and he implied that most of the Rebel troops also disliked the song.
He gave no explanation for this dislike of"Dixie" throughout the war and
afterwards.   He recalled that the favorite marching songs of Confederate men
was the now- forgotten"Lorena" and "Maryland, My Maryland."

A.B. Bowering was the bugler of my wife's great grand fathers unit...his son,
Benjamin Bowering, was the Regular Army advisor to the 244th Coast Artillery
(New York National Guard) in which my father enlisted in 1928. It was
Bowering who recommend that my father be commissioned an officer in the
Regular Army, were mt father met my mother at the Coast Art'ry Officers Dance
in NYC. I went to VMI were Bowering' son wrote the fight song "the Spirit of
VMI" and now live in Fredericksburg Va. were I play a bulge for a Confederate
Reenactment unit........what an interesting follow of events.

Bill Buser
Chief Bugler
35th Battalion Va Cavalry (Reenactment)




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