Various reports and estimates indicate upwards of two to three thousand people attended the outdoor address of US Marshal Frederick Douglass at the fairgrounds in Cumberland, Maryland in September 1879. Further descriptions provide additional attendance and participation from local citizens and visitors in the preceding parade through the central streets of Cumberland upon the arrival of US Marshal Douglass at the Queen City Hotel B & O train station.
A careful examination of available reports indicate leaders in Cumberland arranged with nearby cities and towns to arrange a grand welcoming party and accompanying procession for Marshal Douglass that included the participation of bands, fraternal organizations and delegations from towns in three states and Washington City.
The presence and performance of community-based bands as part of the visits of Frederick Douglass to towns and cities across the country, and throughout Maryland, is one of the many ways local municipalities and communities demonstrated their hospitality to Mr. Douglass.
A rudimentary survey of available source material indicates the formation and activity of several community-based bands throughout areas of Western Maryland following the Civil War. Many of these bands were composed of veterans who had fought in the war. Furthermore, many of the principal towns and cities had their own “colored” cornet or brass band.
In anticipation of the September 1879 visit of Douglass to Cumberland, a local newspaper announced, “A grand street procession, comprising bands from Frederick, Martinsburg, Parkersburg, Keyser, Uniontown and Cumberland; organizations, tableaux, delegations from Washington, Baltimore, Frederick, Hagertown, Harper’s Ferry, Pittsburg, Connellsville, & c., will participate in the exercises on the spacious agricultural fair ground.”
Further research aims to compile a compendium and/or basic listing of regional bands that may have attended the visit of Marshal Douglass to Cumberland’s Emancipation parade and festivities.
Frederick Douglass in Washington, D.C.: The Lion of Anacostia 