History of Fifing and Drumming

Fifes and drums made up the original communication system of the military of the 16th through 19th centuries. Commanders used fifes and drums to relay orders to their troops scattered over the battlefields, with special cadences and songs signaling everything from an advance to a retreat. The piercing fife signals and thundering drumbeats could be heard above even the musketry and cannon fire.

One fifer and one drummer were assigned to each company in a regiment, which normally consisted of ten companies. The ten fifers and ten drummers of the regiment formed a corps that provided military music for reviews, parades and special ceremonies.

The music of the fifes and drums became part of foot soldiers everyday lives, waking them up in the morning, putting them to bed at night, and keeping them in some semblance of order as they marched in between. Fifers and drummers also provided entertainment for the troops. Many popular religious, patriotic and folk songs during America's colonial period were adapted to the fife and drum to help lift spirits and boost morale of the soldiers during long periods of encampment.

Fifing and drumming reached a height during the American Revolutionary War, was carried on through the War of 1812, into the Civil War, and even into the early parts of the 1st World War.