Brief History of the Ringgold Band 1852-Present

• June 28, 1852 – A musical group organizes under the name Independent American Brass Band of Reading, Berks County, PA.

• November 28, 1852 – Band members unanimously agree to play for the Ringgold Light Artillery (a military company that would become the first to answer President Lincoln’s call for volunteers during the mobilization for the Civil War)

• June 1853 – The Independent American Brass Band changes its name to the Ringgold Artillery Brass Band and becomes attached to the U.S. Army’s 25th and 99th regiments.

• June 21, 1862 – Ringgold Artillery Brass Band, along with other regimental bands, is mustered out by order of the federal government. The City of Reading receives widespread recognition of the band’s loyal and patriotic service.

• September 1866 – The Ringgold Artillery Brass Band is incorporated under the name Ringgold Cornet Band. Joseph Winter is elected leader and holds that position until 1901, when the band consolidates with the Germania Band.

• 1901-1923 – Monroe A. Althouse is the next leader of the Ringgold Cornet Band. He would eventually become known as Reading’s “March King” because of the marches he crafted to commemorate special occasions or organizations throughout Berks County. (Today, Ringgold opens each concert with an Althouse march, honoring his musical legacy)

• March 6, 1932 – Renowned “March King” John Philip Sousa conducts the last march of his life. Slated to appear as guest conductor at the Ringgold Band’s 80th Anniversary Concert, Sousa rehearses our National March, “The Stars and Stripes Forever.” Later that day, he attends a banquet in his honor, the Wyomissing Club. He retires to his room in the Abraham Lincoln Hotel in Reading and suffers a fatal heart attack. As a tribute to the late, great “March King” the Ringgold Band concludes every concert with a rousing rendition in the style of Sousa, “The Stars and Stripes Forever.”

These talented directors provided leadership to the Ringgold Band throughout the 20th Century and into the 21st. An exciting period of U.S. History that included world wars, the Great Depression, the space race, and the dawn of the computer age:

• Robert Mattern (1923-1924, 1936-1943);

• Eugene Z. Weidner (1924-1936)

• Fred Cardin (1936-1960);

• Walter J. Gier (1960-1980);

• James S. Seidel (1980-2017);

• Charles Ebersole (2018-present).