Edwin Cushing

Edwin Merrill "Ned" Cushing (September 7, 1830 – December 7, 1903) was an American tenor horn player, auctioneer, and coroner in Staunton, Virginia. Cushing was a charter member and first president of the Stonewall Brigade Band.[1][2] He was considered a "veritable encyclopedia" of Staunton's town history.[3] He was a town alderman in 1853, 1854, and 1856.[4] His gavel is still kept.[5]

Edwin Cushing
Born(1830-09-07)September 7, 1830
Staunton, Virginia, United States
DiedDecember 7, 1903(1903-12-07) (aged 73)
Staunton, Virginia

Early years

Cushing was born on September 7, 1830 to Merrill Cushing and Anne Barnes.[6] He married Betty McCoy, daughter of Judson McCoy.[3]

Stonewall Brigade Band

David Drake and Cushing helped found the Stonewall Brigade Band, recruiting A. J. Turner as its first director.[7][8]

Civil War

Before the war, Cushing was sergeant major of the One Hundred and Sixtieth Regiment, Virginia.[5] He enlisted at the start of war in the quartermaster department. He was released and took part in iron-making in 1863.[5] He later resumed his position as quartermaster. He reportedly served as a “most efficient member” of the Confederate commissary department and, at one point, was appointed as an overseer of the poor.[9] The band was in the 5th Virginia Infantry Regiment.

Death

Cushing died of acute pneumonia on December 7, 1903. He is buried in Thornrose Cemetery.

References
  1. "Treasure Coast". The News Leader.
  2. "Forgotten folks: Staunton's Edwin Cushing was a living encyclopedia of local history". The News Leader.
  3. "E. M. Cushing Dead". Staunton Spectator and Vindicator. December 11, 1903 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Brice, Stonewall Brigade Band, p. 176
  6. "E. M. Cushing Dead". News-Leader. December 11, 1903 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "The Stonewall Brigade Band A Historical Overview". Stonewallbrigadeband.com.
  8. "Valley of the Shadow: Civil War-Era Newspapers". Valley.lib.virginia.edu.
  9. "A Guide to the Cushing Family Papers, 1843-1894:SC 0263". Ead.lib.virginia.edu.
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