Fife and Drum Played by...Indians?

And you thought you had heard everything. I came across this reference while reading the book, My Father, Daniel Boone: The Draper Interviews with Nathan Boone. As the title says, it is a series of interviews with the son of Daniel Boone, Nathan Boone, and in the section on the War of 1812, Nathan (who was an officer of the Missouri Rangers during the war) makes an interesting comment during his description of the Battle of the Sinkhole (1815, Fort Howard, near present day Old Monroe, MO) which says that the Indians played fife and drum!

"Soon after [Captain] Musick's arrival, the Indians broke up. One half of them retreated, while the other half took a post in a large sinkhole about fifty or sixty feet in diameter and some ten or twelve feet deep. Where a lower strata of rocks appeared, there was a cave....Captain Musick ordered his men to surround the sinkhole; however, to his surprise, he discovered the Indians were quite secure there and could fire on him with little or no exposure. He tried cannon fire but with no effect. Then a moving battery was prepared, placed on the foreweels of a wagon, and pushed up to fire through portholes in the battery. When the Indians fired at the portholes, Lieutenant Spears and one or two others were killed and some wounded. Some were shot in the legs, which were exposed by the opening beneath the battery. The Indians took refuge in the cave where they had a drum and fife. They kept playing and shooting. This continued till dusk...all the Indians departed. About seven or eight Indians were found dead on the battle ground and in the sinkhole, but about twelve white soldiers were killed or wounded. This was called the Battle of the Sinkhole." (emphasis added)

It was found out later that this party of Indians was led by none other then Black Hawk (who played an important part in the later Blackhawk War). This was one of the last battles of the War of 1812.

I do not know how to explain how the Indians learned to play fife and drum. Perhaps they learned from the British/Canadians that they were supported by. Perhaps these were stolen fifes/drums from American soldiers. I wonder what music they played. Whatever the case, it is an intriguing incident, and shows something of the commonality of the fife and drum in those days.

-Peter Bringe
 Memor!

Fife and Drum in the Bible

The fife and drum stand in a long tradition of loud instruments have been used to signal, especially for military functions. In the Bible, while they didn't have fife and drum, silver trumpets were specially made for this same purpose. It is easy to see the same Puritans who used the drum to call the people to church and to war finding these verses and making the connection.

Here in Numbers 10:1-10 we see various signals used. There are different calls for assembling the congregation, or for assembling the rulers. There were different calls to be used to move camp. It was used in a certain way in battle, and it was used in the feasts and thanksgivings, to mark the months and the different sacrifices and offerings. The priests were given the duty of blowing the trumpets. Here are the verses:

"The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 'Make two silver trumpets. Of hammered work you shall make them, and you shall use them for summoning the congregation and for breaking camp. And when both are blown, all the congregation shall gather themselves to you at the entrance of the tent of meeting. But if they blow only one, then the chiefs, the heads of the tribes of Israel, shall gather themselves to you. When you blow an alarm, the camps that are on the east side shall set out. And when you blow an alarm the second time, the camps that are on the south side shall set out. An alarm is to be blown whenever they are to set out. But when the assembly is to be gathered together, you shall blow a long blast, but you shall not sound an alarm. And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets. The trumpets shall be to you for a perpetual statute throughout your generations. And when you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the LORD your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies. On the day of your gladness also, and at your appointed feasts and at the beginnings of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings. They shall be a reminder of you before your God: I am the LORD your God.'" (Numbers 10:1-10 ESV)

The Bible also mentions using trumpets when the Israelites marched around Jericho (Joshua 6:20), when Gideon fought against the Midianite invaders (Judges 7), when Jehoiada the priest resisted the usurper Athaliah by placing the rightful king, King Joash, on the throne (2 Kings 11:13-14, that's a great story by the way), and in several other places. In 1 Corinthians 14:8 it uses the illustration, "And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle?"


It's really amazing how similar this is to the way the fife and drum have been used. What we do when we play our music is not a recent invention, nor is it something that has been regarded as extra. To play the fife and drum, like playing the silver trumpets, is to move the hearts and actions of man and to send a cry to God. This had been something reserved to the descendants of Aaron, but now we have the honor to carry on this tradition.

-Peter Bringe
 Memor!

The WPFDC at the Olde Country Christmas

It was a fun and definitely a small town event. It started with a children's parade, we played off and on for a bit, and it ended with a tree lighting (for which John played the drum roll). It was 19 degrees Fahrenheit, and snowing lightly with very little or no wind, which meant that it was very pretty, but so cold that after the short parade us fifers could not feel the holes on the fife (so it might not have been our sharpest performance, but that was ok).

-Peter Bringe
 Memor!

The WPFDC's Veteran Day Event

Sorry, I'm a little behind in posting, but here is a video of us playing for the Elbert County Conservative Breakfast. As it was the 12th of November (the day after Veterans' Day) it had a Veterans' Day theme which we fit in with well (its not very often that you get "veterans" from the War of 1812 to come to your event!)

Again we had our newest member Caleb play with us in the 30 min. that we played outside the door, but for the marching part it was just us three.

-Peter Bringe
 Memor!