Born in Leipzig, Germany, Gustav Knabe attended the Leipzig conservatory, which was established by Mendelssohn. He was a member of Mendelssohn’s orchestra and a friend of Robert and Clara (Wieck) Schumann. He came to the German settlement of Wartburg, Morgan County, Tennessee, about 1847. He enlisted in the Army of the United States on July 28, 1864, and served as “principal musician” in Company H of the Second Regiment of the Ohio Heavy Artillery.
Following the Civil War, he moved to Knoxville. In 1867 he organized the Philharmonic, composed of a vocal group and orchestra. He was a leader of the Turner band (Turn Verein) and in 1870 taught at East Tennessee Female Institute. In 1870 he was employed by the university (then East Tennessee University) to give music instruction and to train and direct the cadet band, beginning in 1871, a position he held until 1887. He also organized “Philharmonic” and “Harmonic” groups among the cadets. About 1873 he established the Knabe’s Musical Academy. In 1881 the university conferred upon him an honorary doctor of music degree.
He composed several funeral marches, one for Andrew Johnson. After Knabe’s funeral service at St. John’s Episcopal Church, a band directed by Professor Charles Garrett played the Knabe funeral marches and the Beethoven funeral march as the cortege processed to Old Gray Cemetery.