I searched for civil war drum calls about a month before you posted this video and today, it showed up on my recommended videos. Thanks for putting this together.
These are sophisticated pieces of communication. To think the common soldier as well as officers drilled these commands enough to memorize them and perform them under extreme circumstances is incredible. Thanks for this highly educational historical video. As well as the accompanying notation.
When I was a kid in England I was in The Boys Brigade and was a drummer for parades. I didn't realize that the drumming drills we used to learn (which I can still remember vividly and play flawlessly even 35-40yrs later) were used as orders to troops, until I started learning about Napoleonic warfare recently. I can barely imagine trying to follow them or make them out in the heat of battle let alone being the poor bastard who had to drum them with musket balls whizzing about, cracking bones, bad enough, but then also cannon balls lopping off limbs and disembowelling lines of men.
That is interesting indeed. I did not know there were drum calls. I knew of bugle calls. I lived through 3 years of those at the Corp of Cadets at VPI.
Bugle calls became more popular during the war, as it was easier to hear in large battles, and easier to carry. While Drum calls were still common it was more for camp duties. Also, the bugle became prominent as the US during the period was using a french and then Prussian manual of drill. The bugle semented itself as a remanence of the cavalry and became tradition after that. Norwich Forever!
There were also fife calls, used primarily in conjunction with the corresponding drum calls, although they could be used alone. The daily repetition of camp life ensured that fife calls even if used alone were just as recognizable to the soldiers as the drum and bugle calls. Regulatory fife calls were typically associated with daily camp life such as the various Reveilles, breakfast, dinner, supper (same call as breakfast), the various Tattoos, To the Colors, etc. Drums and bugles were normally used for calls in the field due to their ability to carry longer distances and cut through noise. Over even greater distances, flags were used (signal corps). By using hilltops, church steeples, purpose-built towers, etc, orders and messages could be passed many miles from one relay station to another, down the line. At night, torches or lanterns could be used by the signal corps in place of flags.
Awesome work, thanks for making this and sharing it. These interesting bits of context, culture and history would be forgotten all the sooner without your efforts
Hard marching infantry veterans were noted to sleep right through bugle cavalry calls, but would rouse at the first sound of drumming. The opposite was true for cavalry. Amazing that drummers were sometimes 9 or 10 year old boys right up front with their regiments and companies. Great video!
When I was a kid used to listen to a vinyl record recording of battle calls of the British .. communication like this is in some ways lost which is sad if anything ever happened to all out “grand” technology.. and it sounds awesome too
Hey to the drummer here, you should make a longer version of all these patterns(?), like a whole two minutes each videos, so dummies like me(or the other guy) can practice. The same goes for a bugle player.
Good stuff. I feel like they used "Rally by Sections" in the movie Gettysburg (or maybe it was the Ken Burns doc) but with another set of diddles leading into the 3 eighth notes. Is that the original notation? It's strange to spend decades reading rhythms like it's a book and then see how it was written a century ago and it's like reading another language, though this one is pretty straightforward but leaves out certain things.
the majority of civil war drummers were kids sometimes as young as 10, legally they were supposed to be 18 but back then there was no way to prove it so boys seeking adventure and glory in war lied, and were enlisted. being so young they really couldn't do much besides drumming and helping take wounded to the medics
Platoon Sargent said to his Platoon leader“Sir private snuffy forgot his musket by the outhouses again “ Pl screamed “ god damn it call in his fucking team leader. Cpl hears the drums off in the distance thinking to his self “what the fuck snuffy fuck up this time I’m going to smoke the shit out of him”
Using a modern drum for these is sooooo farby. It's stands out like a sore thumb.... it's like using a machine gun to demonstrate Picketts Charge. As soon as you hear the first strike your like... "oh man... thats totally not right".
What are you talking about bro the snare is tuned pretty low and the snare is loose which pretty effectively emulates the sound of rope snare from that time. Only real difference is the look.
It’ll be a very short video I’m with you on that one !!old mate put if I remember drummers were targeted by the enemy !! Drummers always get a hard time 😂😂😂
