In March 1861, the band left their post in Fort Mason, which was transferred to the control of the Confederate Army.

[4] In 1953 the band was downsized from 96 to 48 troopers and, the following year, assigned secondary duty as a smoke generator unit.

Throughout the 1960s, the band served multiple tours in Vietnam performing concerts,[9] participating in village support missions, and physical security.

[10] This included multiple tours, and rotations in Vietnam that resulted in the loss of seven musicians; three times, the band lost two members in single attacks in 1966, and twice in 1969.

[11] According to the U.S. Army, on April 8, 2004 – during the United States occupation of Iraq – the band survived an ambush and attack with rocket propelled grenades fired by insurgents en route to perform at an officer commissioning ceremony of the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps.