Recollections of the Fifers' and Drummers' Duties

Here is another quote taken from Drum Taps in Dixie: Memories of a Drummer Boy, 1861-1865 (published in 1905), by Delavan S. Miller, from pages 20-22.

It is hardly to be wondered at that the drummer boys of the 60s got to be very proficient in the handling of the sticks, for when in camp they were having practice from early morn until late at night, and many a time they had to get out in the night and beat the "long roll" for ten or fifteen minutes.

They were the early risers of the camps, too, for at daybreak the fifers and drummers of a regiment would all assemble and sound the reveille, which was several minutes exercise of the most vigorous kind.

The following verses on the reveille were written by a soldier, Michael O'Connor, a sergeant in the 140th New York, and have been pronounced by competent critics as among the "finest lyric lines in the language."

SONG OF THE DRUMS.
"The morning is cheery, my boys, arouse!
The dew shines bright on the chestnut boughs,
And the sleepy mist on the river lies,
Though the east is flushed with crimson dyes.
Awake! Awake! Awake!
O'er field and wood and brake,
With glories newly born,
Comes on the blushing morn,
Awake! Awake!" 

"You have dreamed of your homes and friends all night,
You have basked in your sweetheart's smiles so bright;
Come part with them all for a while again—
Be lovers in dreams; when awake be men.
Turnout! Turnout! Turnout!
The east is all aglow,
Turn out! Turn out!" 

"From every valley and hill there come
The clamoring voices of fife and drum;
And out in the fresh, cool morning air
The soldiers are swarming everywhere.
Fall in! Fall in! Fall in!
Every man in his place.
Fall in! Fall in! Fall in!
Each with a cheerful face.
Fall in! Fall in!"

The next duty of the fifers and drummers was to sound the sick call. The boys made up some appropriate verses which I cannot recall except one line:

"Come and get your quinine, quinine, quinine."

The drummers were active participants in the guard mounting exercises which took place about 9 o'clock in the morning, and usually there was from one to two hours' practice among the musicians in the forenoon, which was repeated in the afternoon unless there was a battalion drill, in which case they took part in the maneuvers of the troops.

Their next duty was at dress parade, where they took a prominent part in what is the most pleasing and spectacular affair of the day.

At 9 o'clock they assemble again and beat the tattoo for the evening roll call, and fifteen minutes later taps are sounded and the day's duties are ended.

In a camp there were always some heavy sleepers and it was the business of the drummers in beating the morning reveille to make noise enough to awake them. Many a time have I seen a fellow rush out of his tent attired in nothing but shirt, drawers and cap and take his place in the ranks hardly in time to answer "here" when his name was called.

The observation he makes at the beginning is one that I have thought on before when some people assume that historic fifers and drummers were bad or amateur musicians. They were professionals! They did this everyday and practiced more than any of us have time to practice. And as you can see, they were also creative.

-Peter B.

 Memor!

Christmas Parade and Tree-Lighting in Elizabeth

Here are some pictures from last Saturday (8th) at the Elizabeth Christmas Parade and Tree-Lighting.

See the Android man? 

 

Afterwards we ate dinner and then John and I had great fun playing for another hour or so on Main Street. 

-Peter B.

 Memor!

The Fife and Drum of the Old Days

The following quote is taken from Drum Taps in Dixie: Memories of a Drummer Boy, 1861-1865 (published in 1905) pages 23-24.

Fife and drum have been heard in every camp and upon all of the battlefields of the world. And for a marching column there is nothing like martial music of the good old-fashioned kind, such as inspired the continental heroes at Lexington, Yorktown and Bunker Hill, and rallied the boys of '61, and later led them in all the marches through the South.

Martial music seems to have gone out of fashion in these up-to-date days, and what little there is, is but a poor apology, with the bugle blasts interjected between the rub-a-dub-dubs of the drummers who hardly know their a b c's about snare drumming.

I have heard but one good drum corps since the war, and that was at the G. A. R. gathering at Buffalo a few years ago. An old time drum corps, who styled themselves the "Continentals" were present. It was composed of veterans over 70 years of age, and, say, they could double discount any other organization present.

Many of the crack brass bands of the country were there, but they were not in it with the old martial band. Their music—mind the expression, "music"—caught on with all the swell people of the city who thronged the camp waiting for an opportunity to hear them, and the veterans went wild as they heard again the reveille and tattoo and the old familiar strains of "Yankee Doodle," "The Girl I Left Behind Me," "Rory O'More," "The Campbells Are Coming," "Hail to the Chief," and many other reminders of the old days.

Fort Atkinson in 2004

The picture below was taken at Fort Atkinson near Omaha, NE when I (Peter) was ten. I am the boy in civilian clothes (I was a recruit at that point). This was with the Lewis and Clark Fife and Drum Corps.

-Peter B. 

 Memor!

Christmas in Castle Rock

Last Saturday (the 17th) we performed at the Castle Rock Starlighting. We had our official performance from 3:00-3:30pm and then played in various places before and after the starlighting ceremony. Castle Rock, CO has a big rock with a star on top that was built there in 1936, and the star is lit every year around Christmas time.

-Peter B.

Memor!

Post-Parade Performance in Castle Rock

Last Saturday (the 10th), after playing in the Colorado Springs Veterans' Day Parade, we stopped by the unfinished veterans' memorial in Castle Rock and played a few tunes.

At the Vietnamese restaurant afterwards.

-Peter B.
 Memor!

Veterans' Day Parade in Colorado Springs

Last Saturday we performed in the Veterans' Day Parade in Colorado Springs with the Mile High Fife and Drum Corps, the Sons of the American Revolution, and the Boy Scouts (I think Troop 53?). It was a great parade, except that the pace was a bit fast and long. Afterwards we had a spontaneous performance in Castle Rock in the snow and rain (I might post pictures of that soon). Great pictures courtesy of Mile High Fife and Drum Corps.

-Peter B.
 Memor!

Practice with the LCFDC

On our way back from Mississinewa we joined the Lewis and Clark Fife and Drum Corps of St. Charles, Missouri (the corps we were in before we moved to Colorado) at their practice. My brother and I are wearing the fatigue hats. The song is "1812."

-Peter B.

 Memor!

The Bicentennial of the Battle of Mississinewa

We had a great time at Mississinewa! The fall colors were amazing (despite that you can't get a good view of that in the pictures). The weather was great, well...as long as you didn't have to take care of the wet canvas and if your vehicle didn't get stuck. It was great to be back in the atmosphere of the reenactment (campfire smoke and all) and see old friends of ours (some of which are literally old), as well as make new ones. We learned new songs and got to use our C fifes. John learned the battlefield commands and used them during the battles (twice a day). The officers were dignified, and the unit we attached ourself to, the Illinois Territorial Rangers, had a great showing. The dance in the evening was well attended and I got to dance each dance (instead of calling them like I usually do). We sang, we marched, we slept; we almost froze the first night. I wish we could do this more often. Below are some videos and pictures that our "corps mom" took during the event.

Summery of the Event

(With special focus on the military)

Duke of York's March (Short Troop)

Hail Columbia

-Peter B.

Memor!

Mississinewa: Aftermath

In all, even though the battle of Mississinewa itself was an American victory, the campaign as a whole basically failed. The hostile Indians did lose men and lost a few smaller villages, but the main town of Mississenaway had been defended successfully. The end result of the campaign was that the Americans had shown themselves active and saved themselves from a potential disaster, but the situation in the North-west was still to be determined. Gen. Harrison busied himself in making plans for the invasion of Canada, fixing his eyes on the rapids of the Maumee near Lake Erie, which would become Fort Meigs.

In January Gen. Winchester, who was still short of supplies, moved to the Maumee river, awaiting Gen. Harrison. But despite Harrison's orders to stay put, Gen. Winchester sent about 900 regulars and Kentucky militia to Frenchtown (now Monroe, MI), along the Raisin River, to capture supplies and protect friendly Indians in that area. But a larger force of Canadian militia and Indians were sent to attack them and Gen. Winchester was unprepared for their attack. The Americans were completely defeated, about one-third of them were killed. After the battle the British did not control the Indians, and the Indians massacred the many wounded Kentuckians. One report said, "The savages were suffered to commit every depredation upon our wounded. Many were tomahawked, and many were burned alive in the houses." Afterwards the battle cry of "Remember the Raisin!" rallied the troops of the West. It would not be until later in 1813 that the U.S. would be victorious in the Northwest at Fort Meigs, Fort Stephenson, Put-in-Bay (Lake Erie), and the Thames.

-Peter Bringe
 Memor!

Mississinewa: The Battle

Continuing from last post, the American forces were encamped in some of the out-lying Miami villages they had won the day before, near the junction of the Wabash and Mississinewa rivers. It was December and the men were getting frostbite. At 4:00am on December 18th reveille was played and the officers met to discuss their situation. During their meeting the Indians attacked. Private Nathaniel Vernon of the Pittsburgh Blues was on sentry duty when the attack began,

"It was near an hour to daybreak when Mr. I. Davis and myself, who were posted on the river before our quarters, were speaking of the possibility of an Indian attack, he was in a very ill humor, and remarked we have marched a hundred miles into the wilderness through snow and sleet, half leg deep in the bleak month of December, with nothing but what we have carried on our backs, and now, what is worse, we shall have to march back without any fight at all. Scarcely had he ended his remarks, when a ball whistled over our heads, and the next instant a yell prevaded the forest as if all the fiends of the lower regions had been loosed upon us. 'There they are now' was his exultant exclamation, and the next moment we were forming in line." 

The next couple hours were filled with fighting in the pre-dawn darkness, as the rifle, musket, and tomahawk were all used with lethal effect. Many screams and battle cries filled the air, and horse went wild as they found themselves tied in the middle of a battle. The commanding officers hurried to put the soldiers in the right positions as the Indians attacked different parts of the encampment. Finally, as dawn came the Americans gained accuracy and efficiency. Seeing that the Americans were gaining power, the Indians dispersed.

While the Indian numbers were hard to estimate, there had been approximately 300 warriors, and their casualties were an estimated 100 killed and wounded. The 600 American soldiers had lost 8 killed, 45 wounded, their main loss being the death of 109 horses, shot by the Indians either on purpose to hinder the Americans or because they were simply in the way of the fighting. While the Americans had successfully repelled the attack, they were hindered from continuing their campaign and left to a hard struggle back to Fort Greenville.

Not only did the U.S. forces have to march back in the freezing snow, with dwindling supplies (including ammunition), with less horses than they used to have, while taking care of their wounded, and being under orders to safely transport the women or children they had taken captive (thus taking up more valuable horses), but they were also in imminent danger of another, larger Indian attack. They did successfully make it back on December 24th, although 300 of the men were incapacitated for a while from frostbite. (The Indian captives were escorted to Indian settlements at Piqua.)

-Peter Bringe
 Memor!

From Tippacanoe to Mississinewa

From the battle of Tippecanoe in 1811 to the battle of Mississinewa in 1812 many things had been happening. Tensions continued to rise between the United States and the United Kingdom. The British had generally been sympathetic/supportive to Tecumseh and the Indians tribes hostile to the Americans, hoping for an Indian buffer between Canada and the U.S. The British also continued to impress American sailors into their navy and otherwise tread on American sovereignty. Great Britain had been battling with France off and on for fifteen years or so, and the U.S. had tried to maintain neutrality and "isolationist" policies such as Washington had promoted. But the struggle to resist being pulled into the European conflict was difficult, as England and France both wanted the U.S. on their side. The U.S. had almost been brought to war with France, and from 1798-1800 a "quasi-war" had been maintained between France and the US. But by 1812 Great Britain had become the larger problem. (As a side note, America was not the only country to try to be neutral but end up fighting Britain because of Britain's bully-like method of treating neutral countries. Denmark-Norway is another example.)

Finally on June 18th, 1812 Congress officially declared "That war be and the same is hereby declared to exist between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the dependencies thereof, and the United States of America and their territories." Although Canada should have been fairly easily taken as the UK was currently busy fighting Napoleon, American troops failed in their attacks during this first year. American Fort Mackinac in northern Michigan was taken by the British. In August, Detroit, with 2,500 American troops, was surrendered to the British by a confused General William Hull to a British/Indian force about half his size. At the same time Fort Dearborn (modern-day Chicago) was abandoned by the US on the condition of safe conduct, but as the American soldiers, civilians, and Miami allies (about 125 total) were leaving the fort (with the fifes and drums playing a funeral march), five-hundred Potawatomi/Winnebago massacred most of them, and took others to torture to death (commanding officer Captain Heald was shot through the hips and Mrs. Heald was shot several times and possibly scalped, but they survived and escaped in a canoe and later settled in St. Charles County, MO).

On October 13th, on the Canadian side of the Niagara River, the battle of Queenston Heights took place. The 1,200 American regulars and militia at first were successful in driving back the Canadians from the heights, especially due to Captain John E. Wool's leadership in taking his men up a narrow path that the British had though unusable. The Canadian hero General Isaac Brock (who had taken Detroit) valiantly led his men to retake the heights, but was killed. Eventually, though, the British and some Mohawks were able to trap the American soldiers, and the American soldiers on the other side of the river did not reenforce them. Thus, this almost-victory turned into a defeat in which the Americans lost 120 dead, 120 wounded, and the rest captured. The British and Mohawks lost about 25 dead, and 85 wounded.

There were a few bright spots amid these disappointments. On the ocean, the USS Constitution, under command of William Hull's nephew, Isaac Hull, had defeated the British frigate HMS Guerriere. On the frontier a few small victories were won. Captain Zachary Taylor successfully defended Fort Harrison with 50 7th Infantry regulars against a much larger Indian force. Soldiers from the 1st Infantry Regiment also successfully defended Fort Madison (Missouri Territory, now Iowa) and Fort Wayne (Indiana Territory) from Indian attacks. In Illinois, Territorial Rangers and Militia defeated some hostile Kickapoos near modern day Peoria, IL.

General William Henry Harrison had successfully led the American army at the battle of Tippecanoe and would later go on to become President of the Unites States. At this point he had been promoted to Brigadier General in command of the U.S. Army of the Northwest (which was mostly in Ohio and Indiana at that time) and was given the task to stop the Indian raids, retake Detroit, and invade Canada. He had launched a three pronged attack in November to retake Detroit and take out a few Indian strongholds on the way. But one prong was ambushed by Shawnees near modern-day Lafayette, IN, another was pinned down at Fort Winchester (north-western Ohio) from lack of supplies because of Miami raids on supply lines, and the other turned back because of the lack of support from the other two. General Harrison realized that to advance on Detroit he would have to do something about the hostile Indian tribes that would cut off his supply line if he moved north.

Thus he sent out Lt. Colonel J.B. Campbell with 600 dragoons and mounted infantry, regulars and volunteers, to take out the hostile Miami villages located near the junction of the Mississenawa and Wabash rivers and destroy some of their food supplies. They left Fort Greenville (north of Dayton, OH) on December 14th and reached some of the villages by the morning of December 17th (near modern-day Marion, IN). Regrettably they had been discovered, and after a brief skirmish they gained possession of a few villages with some women, children, and old men. They destroyed the villages and and set up an encampment. There they spent the night with sentries posted wondering what the morning light would bring. The weather was very cold and some of the men were getting frostbite. At 4:00am in the morning darkness Lt. Col. Campbell, fearing attack, had revile played and had the officers meet to discuss what they would do next.

To be continued...

-Peter Bringe
 Memor!

P.S. In case you are confused, the actual battle of Mississinewa happened in December, the reenactment happens October 12-14.

Mississinewa: The Event

Soon I hope to post some history of the the War of 1812 leading up to the battle of Mississinewa, and of the history of the battle itself. The Mississinewa reenactment, while it does commemorate the battle, also gives a glimpse of life during that time beyond the battle. While the historic battle was not especially important in the grand scheme of the things, the reenactment does a great job of portraying the War of 1812 in general. It is the largest War of 1812 living history event in the United States (or at least its website claims). It not only has battles (two a day), but also military encampments, civilian "Rivertown," an Indian village, and more. (See their website for more information and more pictures.)

In 2008 when we went last.

The American Forces

-Peter B.
 Memor!

War of 1812 Radio Show

Here is a good interview concerning the War of 1812 on Generations Radio (which, incidentally, I work for as Program Director):

The War of 1812: Commemorating 200 Years
"History may not be a big deal to some, but our nation and culture are made by events like the War of 1812. This year marks the 200th year anniversary of the war. It was the last time a foreign nation invaded our shores. Historian Bill Potter explains the complexities, aggressors, stimulants to war, battles fought, and effects of this memorable war in America’s history."

-Peter B.

 Memor!

The History of Fife and Drum in Three Minutes

There is much more history of the fife and drum that I could have included, but here's a brief overview. (I only had a few minutes to prepare.) This was at the Parker Civil War Living History Days in Parker, CO last Saturday. We joined forces with the Mile High Fife and Drum Corps for the event.

-Peter B.
Memor!

Our War of 1812 Bicentennial Event of the Year

We are now brushing up on our 1812 music in preparation for our big War of 1812 bicentennial event of the year. Mississinewa! I hope to post more about this upcoming battle as we get closer. Below you can watch the trailer for the event (it was made for the 2011 event, this year's dates are October 12-14):

-Peter B.

 Memor!

The Deep River Ancient Muster, 2012

Two weeks ago, July 21st, we performed at the Deep River Ancient Muster in Deep River, Connecticut. This muster has been going since about the 1950s and is the largest fife and drum muster in America. This year attendance was a little down and there were 55-60 corps. They were largely from the north-east, although we were glad to see the midwest represented by the Tippecanoe Ancient Fife and Drum Corps. 

Even though John woke up sick in the morning, the fresh air and exercise revived him and we had a great performance in the parade and later on the muster field. Regrettably we don't have a video of our performance on the field where we played a medley of Molly on the Shore/Mason's Apron/Corn Cob Clog/Gilderoy Reel and marched out to Duke of York's March (Short Troop). We won the award for "Farthest Traveled" and the "Victor D. Malcarne Perpetual Challenge Bowl." We want to thank the Connecticut Valley Field Music for letting us sit under their tent during the muster performances and the Moodus Drum and Fife Corps for providing us with lunch and dinner. Here are some pictures from the event:

Getting ready to march

At the beginning of the parade

Here is a video someone put together of nearly all the corps in the parade. The person got many of the labels right, although not all. We are at 14:11 or so (we were 44 out of 55).

Talking to Cap right before we went on to the field

After our performance with the awards

On our way back (yes we drove) we stopped at our old stomping grounds of St. Charles, MO and played a little bit (at about 104 degrees).

-Peter B.
 Memor!

Junior Fife and Drum Camp, 2012

Last week three of us went to the Company of Fifers and Drummers’ Junior Fife and Drum Camp. This was my (Peter) seventh time at the camp, and the last time due to aging-out, and was the second time for John and Thomas. It was held in Ivoryton, Connecticut the week prior to the Deep River Ancient Muster, the largest fife and drum muster in America (I’ll be posting about the muster next post). The camp had 90-some fifers and drummers from around the states (mostly the north-east, but including California, Missouri, Indiana, Tennessee, etc...). We had a great time playing, learning, and listening to the fife and drum for the week.

This year we learned some of the music of the Connecticut Yanks Fife and Drum Corps, a corps from the 1960s-70s very influential in the fife and drum tradition. We actually had former members of the corps teach us at camp, as well as tell stories of fife and drum 35-50 years ago. You can see pictures from camp and listen to the original Yanks on their Facebook page. This completed a three-year series at camp where we had also learned music from the Sons of Liberty Ancient Fife and Drum Corps and the New York Regimental Fife and Drum Band (both from the mid-1900s). We have found it helpful to see the way the fife and drum tradition has been handed down from generation to generation, giving more motivation to see it continue to advance in our own time and beyond.

At the end of camp we performed the music at the Deep River Muster on Friday night. Here is video of most of the performance:

Hark! Can you hear the drum resounding? 

Can you hear the bass drum’s mallet pounding? 

Can you hear the fife’s clear melodic shrieks? 

Though the hills and valleys, ponds and creeks?

-Peter

 Memor!

Independence Day in Elbert County

This year for the Fourth of July we performed at the Pioneer Fourth Celebration in Kiowa, put on by the Elbert County Historical Society. It was a fun event, and we enjoyed the museum as well. 

Performing at lunch time 

They had a costume competition (we got second place)

After our performance I recited the poem "The Patriot Pastor, or, the Rising in 1776" written by Thomas Buchanan Read. This is where the quote on the side bar comes from: 

"And there was tumult in the air,

The fife’s shrill note, the drum’s loud beat,

And through the land everywhere

The answering tread of hurrying feet;"

You can read the poem here.

Afterwards, we stopped by Main Street, Elizabeth for the parade we organized. We just forgot to tell anyone else about it...

We played at the Carriage Shops for a bit, first in formation (as pictured) and then in informal jamming

-Peter B.
 Memor!

Parker Days Parade, 2012

Last Saturday we marched in the Parker Days Parade. It was a shorter parade, and 'twas a slower parade than usual, which meant that we marched slower with shorter steps, making it a more relaxing parade. The weather was sunny and breezy. Here are a few pictures:

At Waffle House afterwards

(a tradition for us after Parker Days Parade, two years running)

-Peter Bringe

 Memor!

The Elizabeth Stampede Parade, 2012

Last Saturday (June 2nd) we marched in the Elizabeth Stampede Parade. This was one of the first Colorado events that we have done twice. We had a much better place than last year, near the front with quiet groups in front and back of us. We saw quite a few familiar faces at the event, Elizabeth being our home base. Here are a couple picture from the parade.

Jamming beforehand  

The storm that caused the event to close down early after the parade was done. It was great weather overall, sunny for the parade and entertaining afterwards. 

-Peter B.
 Memor!