Patriotic Concert by the Army Ground Forces Band

Join us on Saturday, June 25, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in Shelter Cove Community Park for a free Patriotic Concert by the Army Ground Forces Band. The concert is free and open to the public.

Shelter Cove Community Park is located at 39 Shelter Cove Lane, Hilton Head Island. 

The Army Ground Forces Band performs concerts in support of local, regional and national events, such as centennial celebrations, festivals, inaugurations, and city and state commemorations. The band’s various ensembles frequently travel throughout the country, performing several concert tours each year.

The Army Ground Forces Band provides world-class music in support of the U.S. Army Forces Command, headquartered at Ft. Bragg in Fayetteville, N.C. It serves as the musical ambassador of the American combat soldier to the American people, instilling pride in our troops and promoting a spirit of patriotism and support for our nation’s military through the performance of music at the local, regional and national levels.

The band was organized as the Fourth Infantry Regiment Band on July 21, 1845, in New Orleans. Its heritage includes 26 campaign streamers and the French Croix de Guerre with Gilt Star.

Its members fought heroically in the Mexican War, becoming the only Army band to receive a combat distinction from the president of the United States. On Sept. 21, 1846, during the Battle of Monterrey, members of the band captured an enemy artillery battery and turned it against the Mexican army. In recognition of this heroic action, President Zachary Taylor, who had commanded the Fourth Infantry Regiment during the war, authorized the band to wear red piping on its dress uniforms, commemorating its distinguished wartime service.

The band’s history includes service in the Civil War, the War with Spain, the Philippine Insurrection, and both World Wars. The band fought with the victorious Third Division, which spearheaded the Battle of the Marne in July 1918. During World War II, the band participated in the Aleutian Islands operation of May 1943.

Following World War II, the name of the Fourth Infantry Regiment Band was changed to its current title, the 214th Army Band. In 1985, Secretary of the Army John O. Marsh Jr. conferred upon the unit the distinctive designation the Army Ground Forces Band.