Historical accuracy at events like the 145th commemoration of the Battle of Chickamauga demands replication of more than the uniforms and armaments that existed in September 1863.

It demands musicians who play the role of either Union or Confederate bandsmen and use period instruments to play music of the mid-1800s, when brass bands were the rock stars of their day.

“I’m not a re-enactor, just a member of the 8th Georgia band,” said Herb Barnum, 87. “We are just proud of the music of that era and don’t want to see it die.”

Blaring bugles and rattling drums that punctuated the din of battle and directed phalanxes of Blue and Gray were not the only sounds of that conflict, said members of the Rome-based 8th Georgia Regiment Band.

“The officers recognized the value of bringing something warm and fuzzy from home and, since there were no recordings, bands accompanied the armies,” said Jerry Pollard, 55, president of and principal cornetist with the 8th Georgia band.

“Officers hired these bands not because they loved music, but because they thought it was vital for a successful fighting unit,” he said.

Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, who commanded a Union division during the Battle of Chickamauga, loved music, according to the U.S. Army’s Web site.

Historians note that during action in Virginia, “Sheridan massed all his musicians on the firing line with the order to ‘play the gayest tunes in their books. ... Play them loud and keep on playing them, and never mind if a bullet goes through a trombone, or even a trombonist, now and then.’”

The 8th Georgia band will perform “Hail, Columbia” for Vice President Dick Cheney, the featured speaker at today’s opening ceremony, and will play concerts throughout this weekend’s event.

“This is a labor of musical love,” said John Carruth, 73, former conductor of the Rome Symphony Orchestra and a founding member of the 8th Georgia Regiment Band.

Research into Civil War-era music is fairly recent and was spurred by Frederick Frennell of the Eastman School of Music. His two-volume set, “The Civil War — Its Music and Its Sounds,” was recorded in 1960 by musicians using period instruments.

The 8th Georgia Regiment Band formed when Rome’s symphony was asked to perform an outdoor concert in 1985. The musicians discovered period music suitable for transposition and performance on modern instruments, Mr. Carruth said.

“The brass and percussion with the symphony rehearsed and enjoyed the 19th-century brass band arrangements,” he said.

Musicians began collecting copies of arrangements used during the Civil War era. They have performed in films and appeared throughout the country, sometimes as Confederates, sometimes as Union members of the 8th New York National Guard Regiment Band and sometimes as a civilian band.

“We try to be a living museum of musical emotion from that time,” Mr. Pollard said. “We want to represent the musicians, the music and the musicianship of the period with integrity.”

Members include players from the Rome Symphony Orchestra, students and staff from local high schools and colleges, and professional musicians.

“We have all ages in the 8th Georgia,” Mr. Barnum said. “Our newest member is an E-flat bass player who is a student at Berry College. He is one of two (Berry College) freshmen in the band, and when they graduate we’ll have to fill their positions.”

Age, not of band members but of instruments, poses a big problem. All performers use restored period instruments, said Mr. Barnum, the band’s business manager.

“We have stiff operational costs to maintain and keep our 150-year-old instruments playable,” he said. “If you were their age, you’d fall apart, too.”