CHARLES A. ZIMMERMANN
(Born in Newport, Rhode Island, 1862--Died in Annapolis, Maryland, 1916)

Charles A. "Zimmy" Zimmermann was bandmaster at the U.S. Naval Academy from 1887 until his death in 1916. Although he composed a work for each graduating class, including a number of marches, he is best remembered for Anchors Aweigh-The Song of the Navy. Zimmermann was born in 1862 (or 1861) in Newport, Rhode Island, where his father, Charles G. Zimmermann, was a member of the Naval Academy Band--the Academy was moved back to Annapolis at the end of the Civil War. Charles A.'s younger brother Johnalso became a musician and several years later served as leader of the band at the Soldiers' Home in Washington, D.C.

At about the age of twenty, Charles A. moved to Baltimore (his mother'shome city) and attended Peabody Institute for three years. He majored in instrumental music at that conservatory, becoming a skilled pianist and also learning to play cello, violin, trombone, oboe, guitar, and several other instruments. He was also a member of the U.S. Naval Academy Band during that time, presumably as a civilian, and, after playing with the band for five years, he replaced Peter Schoff as leader in 1887.

When Grover Cleveland became President in 1893, Zimmermann gained national recognition by conducting an orchestra of 120 musicians during the inaugural ball. Four years later, when Sousa's successor as Marine Band leader, Francesco Fanciulli, was discharged from that position, Zimmermann was offered the appointment. He declined the prestigious post so that he could continue composing and guest-conducting without having the excessive pressures associated with the Washington-based Marine Band.

Prof. Zimmermann (at the piano) and his orchestra in Mahan Hall
with the Midshipman theatre group "Masqueraders." This group is still active today.

In October of 1903, Bandmaster Pasqual DeSantis and seventeen regular navy bandsmen from the Musicians School in Norfolk were sent to the Naval Academy to augment the all-civilian band. Zimmermann was faced with the task of integrating the two groups into one cohesive unit while administering a dual set of standards regarding outside employment, disciplinary action, and retirement benefits. In 1910 Congress established the band as a regular navy unit of forty members with a leader, who was authorized the same pay as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps, and an assistant leader. Although the transition was difficult for the former civilians, Zimmermann's exceptional administrative and musical ability, as well as his warm personality, helped the band gain the respect of both military and civilian personnel throughout the nation. Starting in 1892, each class of midshipmen at the academy presented "Zimmy," as he was affectionately known by the students, with a gold medal for his helpfulness and for his new music. Zimmermann was also active in several fraternal organizations, including the Knights of Columbus, and was the organist at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church in Annapolis. He became ill and died suddenly on Sunday morning, January 16, 1916, of a brain hemorrhage. Lieutenant Zimmermann was given a full military funeral, with midshipmen serving as pall bearers, and classes were suspended so that the entire regiment might attend when he was buried in St. Mary's Cemetery on January 19, 1916. Subsequently, Zimmermann's body was exhumed and transferred to the Naval Academy cemetery where a handsome granite monument, as a gift from the classes of 1916 and 1917, was erected in his honor. The inscription at the base of the cross states, "Erected by His Midshipmen Friends." He was survived by his wife, Ida M. (Sullivan).

Newspaper announcement of Zimmermann's death.
Courtesy of the USNA Museum.

Zimmermann's ceremonial sword.
Courtesy of the USNA Museum.

Beginning early in his long career at the U.S. Naval Academy, Zimmermann composed a piece each year which was dedicated to the graduating class. His friend at the rival U.S. Army Military Academy at West Point, Philip Egner, followed a similar procedure during his career there (1909 to 1934). Most of the compositions encouraged the rivalry between the academies.

Text from "March Music Notes" by Norman E. Smith.

A copy of "All Hands" a Zimmermann March dedicated to the Class of 1899.

Cover pages to a few of Zimmermann's compositions.

HISTORY