Possible Gideon G. Owens drum (94th OVI) by Wm. S. Tompkins

Possible Gideon G. Owens drum (94th OVI) by Wm. S. Tompkins

Information from eBay Auction:

17 1/2" diameter by 15" height, eBay item no. 290999686135.  Offered for sale by "GreeneSgt" for a starting bid of $9,999.00 and a BIN price of $13,250.00.

This drum has a beautiful patriotic scene with US flags, a man writing at a desk and scrolls.

Star enlays of different woods. Maker: W.S. TOMPKINS, YONKERS NY

Drum head has Co.C 94th Regt. OVI on the drum head along with some of these battles:

Yates' Ford, Kentucky River, August 30-September 3. Yates' Ford August 31. Tate's Ferry, Kentucky River, September 1. Retreat to Louisville, Ky., September 2–3. Pursuit of Bragg into Kentucky October 1–15, 1862.

Battle of Perryville, Ky., October 8. March to Nashville, Tenn., October 16-November 7, and duty there until December 26.

Advance on Murfreesboro December 26–30.

Battle of Stones River December 30–31, 1862 and January 1–3, 1863. Duty at Murfreesboro until June. Tullahoma Campaign June 23-July 7. Hoover's Gap June 24–26. Occupation of middle Tennessee until August 16. Passage of the Cumberland Mountains and Tennessee River, and Chickamauga Campaign August 16-September 22. Davis Cross Roads or Dug Gap September 11. 

Battle of Chickamauga September 19–21. Rossville Gap September 21. Siege of Chattanooga, Tenn., September 24-November 23.

Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign November 23–27. Lookout Mountain November 24–25. Missionary Ridge November 25. Pea Vine Valley and Graysville November 26. Ringgold Gap, Taylor's Ridge, November 27.

Demonstrations on Dalton, Ga., February 22–27, 1864. Tunnel Hill, Buzzard's Roost Gap and Rocky Faced Ridge February 23–25. Atlanta Campaign May 1-September 8.

Demonstrations on Rocky Faced Ridge May 8–11. Buzzard's Roost Gap May 8–9. Battle of Resaca May 14–15. Advance on Dallas May 18–25. Operations on line of Pumpkin Vine Creek and battles about Dallas, New Hope Church and Allatoona Hills May 25-June 5. Pickett's Mills May 27. 

Operations about Marietta and against Kennesaw Mountain June 10-July 2. Pine Hill June 11–14. Lost Mountain June 15–17. Assault on Kennesaw June 27. Ruff's Station, Smyrna Camp Ground, July 4. 

Chattahoochie River May 5–17.

Buckhead, Nancy's Creek, July 18. Peachtree Creek July 19–20. Siege of Atlanta July 22-August 25. Utoy Creek August 5–7. Flank movement on Jonesboro August 25–30. Near Red Oak August 29. Battle of Jonesboro August 31-September 1.

Operations against Hood in northern Georgia and northern Alabama September 29-November 3. March to the sea November 15-December 10. Siege of Savannah December 10–21. Campaign of the Carolinas January to April 1865. Near Rocky Mount, S.C., February 28.

Taylor's Hole Creek, Averysboro, N.C., March 16. Battle of Bentonville March 19–21. Occupation of Goldsboro March 24.

Advance on Raleigh April 10–14. Occupation of Raleigh April 14. Bennett's House April 26. Surrender of Johnston and his army. March to Washington, D.C., via Richmond, Va., April 29-May 20.

Grand Review May 24.


I FOUND A BETTER SET OF PHOTOS:

(Thank you GunBroker for http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=370490186#PIC.)

And these photos answer some questions.  First, the plaque simply identifies the maker (but at least it does that) as Wm. S. Tompkins.  Also, the inlaid details are characteristic of a Tompkins drum.  I'm not sure about the pulls or the metal snare mechanism.  Just insufficient information for me to form an opinion.

Bill McGrath Shows Us How to Play a Snare Drum - Any Snare Drum

Thanks go to Paul Guiness who posted this information and video on YouTube, April 8, 2013.  It's a treasure:

William A. McGrath, Jr. of Rochester, New York performs in the Individual Snare Drum category at the Drum Corps Associates "D.C.A." World Championship Individuals Contest in Rochester , New York , on August 30, 1996.

He represents a Junior Drum and Bugle Corps known as the Emerald Cadets of Rochester (Irondequoit), New York which was in operation from 1958 to 1969 as a field competition corps. Bill appears here as an Alumni member of that corps wearing the original Emerald Cadet uniform.

In this clip Bill plays an "Ancient-style" Rope Drum, a modern high tension snare drum with a Kevlar head, then a 1960's-70's style snare drum with a more flexible synthetic drum head. Although he plays three different drums here he does not play on any of them simultaneously therefore maintaining the individual aspect of performing in the Individual Snare Drum category.

The Hellcats: Why Rope Drums?
By Staff Sergeant J. Andrew Porter

Percussive Notes, the journal of the Percussive Arts Society, Vol., 49, No. 3, pp. 50, 51, May 2011

PDF here.

A Civil War drum carried by Orestes H. Porter, Company I, 21st Maine Volunteer Infantry

From Bonhams Website:

A Civil War drum carried by Orestes H. Porter, Company I, 21st Maine Volunteer Infantry

14 Nov 2006 10:00 PST San Francisco

Antique Arms and Armor and Modern Sporting Guns

Auction Item no. 3114

The interior with paper label reading:

Massachusetts Drums

Made and Sold by

Chandler & Peabody

Marlborough Street-Salem

Ash shell. Wooden rims painted red and drilled for the ropes. Rope tension retaining five leather tugs. Original heads. Cord and sinew snare adjuster. Complete with original red worsted strap piped in blue and tan and with original pair of drumsticks. With letter stating family provenance.

Condition: Showing wear and scattered marks. Upper rim chipped. Rope tension an old replacement. Strap showing wear and losses, the leather strap broken.

See Illustration

Estimate: US$ 1,500 - 2,500

£940 - 1,600

€1,100 - 1,800

Footnotes:

Provenance: By family descent to the present owner.

Note: The 21st Maine Infantry was a nine month regiment enlisted in November of 1862. They were active in the Port Hudson campaign and suffered considerable losses, mainly due to disease. Orestes Porter died on March 8, 1863 and the drum was returned to his family.

Hugh F. Quigley Plays The Connecticut Halftime

Hugh F. Quigley Plays The Connecticut Halftime

Hugh F, Quigley plays Connecticut half Time for a drum demonstration during 1988 Lancraft anniversary. Narrated by George Meinsen.

J. Burns Moore, a Short Autobiography

J. Burns Moore, a Short Autobiography.

Thanks go to VintageDrumGuide.com for posting the following images on its website at http://www.vintagedrumguide.com/nard-j-burns-moore.html.

J. Burns Moore Plays The Connecticut Halftime

J. Burns Moore Plays The Connecticut Halftime

Thanks go to Ed Flack for posting this recording of the great J. Burns Moore on YouTube.

Moore's instruction book, "The Art of Drumming," was my first (and basically only) instruction manual.  My father (Jacob Joseph Mirsky, 1939 NYS VFW Jr. Snare Drum Champion) taught me the long roll, flam, and a few other rudiments, but Moore's book taught me the rest, and all the pieces in the back of the book, including "The Connecticut Halftime."

1862 WILLIAM S. TOMPKINS & SONS DRUM No. 49

This article reposted from http://notsomoderndrummer.com/brian-hill/on-the-ropes/the-cost-of-war.html

THE COST OF WAR!
Originally published 10/31/12 by Brian Hill

• Maker: Wm. S. Tompkins & Sons
• Circa: 1862, number 49.
• Dimensions: 10" (h.) x 17" (dia.).

William S. Tompkins was not just any drum maker, but an incredible craftsman in general. He worked on the cutting edge of the technology available in the then burgeoning martial state that was the 1850's and 1860's. It is thought that he was born around 1812 and served in the Mexican War, possibly in his 30's. Exactly when he started making drums is a matter of speculation. His drums are very well made and virtual works of art that are fairly hard to find. Most of Tompkins drums have very innate designs of inlaid wood placed directly in the shells outer ply of (usually) mahogany. However, there seems to be a very limited supply of Tompkins drums that have been ornately painted rather than adorned with inlays. As of this writing, I only know of two....this is one of those two rare drums.

Both of the painted Tompkins drums have striking similarities that could indicate the same painter. The painting on this drum is centered on a large gilded circle that encases a Civil War Union Infantry battle-line charging the enemy with drums beating, flags waving and bombs bursting in a golden field of grass. Picturing three separate but related scenes shrouded in the National Colors, the drum appears to be telling a story, reading from right-to-left when looking directly at the front of the shell.

In the first scene, a soldier sounds the "Charge" on his bugle dressed in a "Chasseur-style" uniform while holding his musket at rest with bayonet fixed. The second scene of the story is the battle scene complete with a drummer with musician's sword, dressed in the classic Vouave uniform sporting the red baggy trousers, made famous by French Legionnaires, found early in the War. The third and final scene is perhaps the most defining and telling of the three. It depicts a soldier sitting on a crate with his head held in his hands, mourning. Beside the soldier is what appears to be a whiskey bottle. Painted on this soldiers rear pants pocket are the initials: "CRR." This is probably the cartouche of the artist who painted the drum.

The story seems to be telling the familiar theme that was a stark reality to the people affected by the on-going struggle that started out as what was thought to be a 3-month affair, but turned out to be a never-ending nightmare of loss and destruction. With the debacle of First Bull Run, in July of 1861 and the battle of Shiloh in April 1862, early illusions of a fast and bloodless war, faded away as the nature what the War would be became apparent. This war would cost more than anyone first imagined when first encouraged by the war fever of the time. Reality was beginning to set in and this drum seems to be a reflection of cost of that reality as the war dragged on. Civil War era paintings of battle-lines on the drum shells are extremely rare and are only usually found in museums.

The paint on this drum, and for that matter the paint on the other "painted" Tompkins drum, seem to be of the era of the War as is with the opinions solicited from experts in the field. The drum could have been made for a militia group or a private purchase for a Union drummer possibly stationed in the Washington D.C. or Baltimore area. Some schools of thought seem to think that regulations on items such as drum motifs may have been somewhat relaxed in these locations. All main areas of this drum seem to be original to mid-to-late 1862.

William Tompkins liked to incorporate the latest innovations into his drum making. He was quick to adopt iron rope hooks instead of drilling holes in the counter hoops and running the cord through them to tighten the heads. He also seemed inclined to use the "screw-type" snare adjuster as opposed to the older "clam-style" adjuster. His shell design was also cutting-edge as he bent what appears to be a main ply of stained maple with the grain running vertically and "butt-seamed" together, overlapped with a thin ply of mahogany veneer running horizontally and secured so closely that the seam is all but detectable. Running the grain vertically on the inside of the shell will help to create more low-end fundamental tones that will compensate for the relative shallowness of the ten inch depth of the shell. The outer ply, along with the hand-carved glue rings located top and bottom on the inside of the shell, reinforce the inner/main ply of the drum. Tompkins would also use the outer ply of wood to inset the intricate hand carved pieces of wood to create his impressive inlay designs. The vent hole is reinforced with a hand carved bone grommet. The maple counter hoops are 1 3/8" high with some of the best and smoothest scarf joints I have ever seen. There are two hand-cut rectangular snare gates in the lower counter hoop measuring approximately 1 ¾" in length to allow the four gut snares to pass freely through.

Tompkins drums are not known for paper labels on the inside of the shell. Instead, Tompkins hand wrote his "label" in pen. His practice was also to date and number them: this drum is numbered "49" and dated "1862." Many of the drums that I have seen of a later date also include the month and day of manufacture. The hand written label reads: "Wm. S. Tompkins & Sons, Makers, Yonkers, NY, "Drum of All Sizes Made To Order" 1862, 49" Also hand written in pencil is an old repair notation: "Werner Soistman, Drums of All Sizes, Made to Order Repairs & All Trimmings High Grade, Bands Furnished With Every ___?__ Banjos, Tambourines At 241 N. 2nd Phila. PA." Werner and John Soistman formed the firm "Soistman & Brothers" in 1887. Werner, along with his two brothers, Jos. and Ernest, succeeded their father Louis Soistman who died in January, 1886, in the drum making business. The Soistman family was listed as drum makers starting with Conrad and Frederick (C & F Soistman) in the 1850's and continued until 1975 ending with Charles (Buck) Soistman (son of Charles A.), comprising separate firms from time-to-time. This notation was more than likely for a repair that Werner performed on the drum in Philadelphia during the mid-1880's to the mid-1890s. Werner kept this address until 1895. The batter (top) skin may be original to this repair and has the Jos. Rogers, Jr. stamp.

The rope has been replaced along with the 12 leather ears, bottom hide, leather rope washer, gut snares and leather snare butt. A light cleaning was all that was necessary to bring this drum up to a restored condition. The appeal for a relic in this league would not only find an audience with collectors of antiques and drums, but from those of military and history, as well as folk-art groups. This incredible drum stands as a rare and compelling testament to what was our "Civil" War and the reality of what makes a Drum of WAR!

From Lancaster County PA,
Thoughts from the Shop....

Brian Hill
brisoundperc@yahoo.com

Robin Engelman's Excellent Website / The Downfall of Paris

The Downfall of Paris
(photo from http://robinengelman.com/category/articles/fifes-drums/)
Prof. Engelman acknowledges assistance from many sources on his website.

Robin Engelman's Excellent Website

Where do I start?  Rope drum enthusiasts should wander over to Robin Engleman's excellent website covering a multitude of things drum, percussion, music, and life.  Our readers should see, especially, Professor Engelman's articles on fifes and drums.  His treatment of the history of the Downfall ("The Downfall of Paris") is revealing and informative.  What a fabulous resource he has given us.

Thank you Professor Engelman.

WAR OF 1812 American Military Drum CHANDLER AND PEABODY 1807-1814

From eBay (item no. 181192343489):

"AMERICAN WAR OF 1812 DRUM

"Untouched Original American Drum from the War of 1812 made between 1807 and 1814 by Chandler and Peabody of Salem, Mass.

"16 ½ inches high; 16 ¾ inches in diameter; Rims 1 ½ inches wide. Rims old red paint, wear to top edges between ropes from use. Original rope, heads, snare, four original tighteners. Rope has one break; tighteners are partial and fragile; tear in top head. Bottom head, snare and snare tightener good. Old repair to bottom rim in two places by riveting on iron strips. Old name in ink script on top head that is difficult to make out, but is certainly that of an owner. Tack decorated around vent hole and down overlap. Plain wood body with age and water stains.  Museum accession/inventory number in small letters on bottom head. Untouched condition.

"Vent hole permits reading of horizontally mounted label. Photo taken through the vent hole with light through the heads. I have not taken the drum apart. I would guess the label to be about 5 x 7 inches. Label with decorative border reads: “Massachusetts Drums” over a wonderful early American eagle clutching olive branch and arrows, with a ribband in its beak reading “E Pluribus Unum” and a stylized sunburst overhead. Below the eagle: “MASSACHUSETTS DRUMS, MADE AND SOLD BY CHANDLER & PEABODY, Marlborough Street – SALEM.”

"There are no city directories of Salem for this period, but advertisements in the Salem Gazette give a narrow window for the manufacture and marketing of this drum. The beginning of the partnership of Chandler and Peabody on Marlborough Street likely dates between 1807 and 1812. Advertisements for drums by Oliver Peabody alone on Marlborough Street in Salem date 21 August 1807 and 4 September 1807 (I show one of these.) Advertisements for drums and drum instruction books for sale by Chandler and Peabody and for Chandler and Peabody’s Drum Manufactory on Marlborough Street date 24 April 1812 and 15 May 1812 (I show two of these.) The partnership would have been dissolved by 11 February 1814 when Oliver Peabody died in Salem at age 39 (I show his grave site from find a grave. The Essex Register of 16 February 1814 lists his death in Salem at age 35, which is likely a miscopying of “39.” 

"Chandler may have remained in business on his own at that address. Norm Flayderman sold a drum with a Chandler label with a Marlborough Street address (Cat.98, item 699, wrongly cited by Bazelon and McGuinn.) That drum bore a circa 1880 painted inscription that it was "War of 1812" and had been bought in 1812, likely mistaken in actual date. 

"Pre-Civil War military drums can seldom be dated. Those few that can are almost always date 1825 or later. Here is the chance to acquire a real War of 1812 war-date drum made no later than 1814. De-accessioned from a New England institution and acquired at public auction."

THANKS GO TO: Randolf Davis and Peter Emerick who brought this information to my attention via email.  Peter Emerick adds, "Not as true to the 'untouched 1812' condition the seller would lead you to believe. Interesting snare knot on the anchor side and an obvious updated strainer and gate cut. Nice eagle on the label though, giving an earlier than a [Civil] war contract [drum] perception and a real "federalist period" style. Too bad the roof leaked over its storage location over the years. Real nature art appearance!"  And, of course, to the seller who published the above information to eBay, and to eBay for publishing it to us.

The Return of the 69th Irish Regiment

Unearthed Painting Depicts the Irish Fighting 69th Regiment Returning From Bull Run

by Patrick Young, Esq. - Blogger

Read Article.

Fife and Drum Corps
Marching through History
American Profile magazine, July 7, 2013

Click here for PDF of the article.

Source: http://americanprofile.com/articles/fife-drum-corps/

Like fife and drum musicians in Colonial days, Jim Lamay stands at attention under his tricorn hat—a snare drum strapped over his right shoulder—until he and the Deep River Drum Corps launch into a spirited patriotic tune in Deep River, Conn. (pop. 4,629).

In the last 50 years, Lamay has never missed the Deep River Ancient Muster, the largest gathering of fife and drums corps in the United States.

Using wooden drumsticks, Lamay and fellow percussionists perform a crisp roll on Colonial-style instruments, sending a reverberating echo through the New England town. Onlookers applaud as other musicians play wooden fifes and booming bass drums, and the band regales the crowd with “Yankee Doodle,” a signature song of the Revolutionary War.

“It’s in my soul. It’s one big family,” says Lamay, 59, who was 9 when he began playing with the group. “You get to know people from all around the world and often the only time you see them is at this muster.”

Up to 80 bands dressed in historical attire converge each July on Deep River. One group at a time, they parade along Main Street, passing historic homes and buildings while performing some of the same music that provided the cadence for troops marching into battle during the Revolutionary War, the Civil War and other early American military engagements.

“I believe this muster attracts so many people because it hits you right here,” says Don Buell, 48, as he places one hand across his heart. “When those fifes and drums come by, it does something to an individual.”

Echoes of history

Since age 6, Buell has played with the drum line of the Chester (Conn.) Fife and Drum Corps, one of the nation’s oldest continually active corps. The group was co-founded in 1868 by Buell’s great-great-great grandfather, Oliver Buell, and his parents, siblings and daughters all have participated as fifers, drummers or members of the corps’ color guard.

Most of the music played by the Chester corps dates to the Revolutionary War and has been performed in the same style for 145 years.

“It’s important for all drum corps to retain their distinctive sound and to carry their traditions forward,” says Buell, the corps’ drum sergeant. “All will be lost if we alter our music. This is history. It has to remain the way it is.”

During the early Colonial era, America’s fife and drum music grew out of necessity to communicate across distances of up to five miles. Before foundries were established that could cast church bells, town drummers notified citizens of public events.

Throughout the Revolutionary and Civil wars, percussion instruments were used to tell troops when to wake, eat, work, sleep or be on alert. By the Civil War, young boys were recruited for the task of playing music for foot soldiers to break up the monotony of long marches and to inform troops when to assemble, charge, retreat or cease-fire. During the same period, cavalries introduced a brass horn to the music of war.

“After the Civil War ends, the bugle takes the place of fife and drum for military purposes, and [the fife and drum] become this recreational and nostalgic part of music for Civil War veterans,” says James Clark, 58, author of Connecticut’s Fife and Drum Tradition.

Mustering a tradition

The Deep River Ancient Muster traces its roots to May 13, 1879, when five area fife and drum corps participated in a “field day” at Devitt’s Field in Deep River.

“They were competitive events, though they weren’t very competitive. It was really an excuse to get together and play music,” says Clark, a founding member of the Connecticut Valley Field Music, a fife and drum band based in Middletown, Conn.

For the next seven decades, more field days occurred periodically until Sept. 5, 1953, when 15 corps from Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, New York and Washington, D.C., gathered for the first muster in Deep River, which featured a one-mile parade through town and later included a series of short musical performances—called a "tattoo"—at Devitt’s Field.

“It’s become the main gathering place for people in fife and drums,” says Clark, a music professor at the University of New Haven (Conn.), who has attended every Deep River muster since 1964. “People plan their 

year around it.”

Last year’s event was attended by 58 corps from 11 states, including the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps of the Army’s 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, based in Fort Myer, Va.

“There is a lot of camaraderie,” says Mark Reilly, 34, section leader of the Old Guard’s snare line. “We share in the experience, music, heritage and tradition of fife and drum.”

At the parade’s end, the bands make their way to the baseball diamond at Devitt’s Field and line up in a colorful display of band uniforms from early Colonial days to the 1890s. Each group performs a medley of favorite songs, including Revolutionary War standards such as “York Fusiliers” and “Chester,” and Civil War tunes such as “The Girl I Left Behind” and “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.”

Last year, awards were presented to the corps that traveled the farthest (the Western Plains Fife and Drum Corps of Elizabeth, Colo.); featured the most marching participants (the 32-member Moodus Fife and Drum Corps of Moodus, Conn.); and demonstrated the most patience by marching last in the parade (the Fifes & Drums of the Delaware Militia in Newark).

While striving for precision and synchronicity, the musicians preserve a tradition inspired by diverse passions.

“For some of us, it’s history,” Clark says. “For some of us, it’s music. For all of us, it’s a community.”

Read more: http://americanprofile.com/articles/fife-drum-corps/#ixzz2YfYZzdK8 or

http://americanprofile.com/articles/fife-drum-corps/.

Watch video "Visit the Deep River Ancient Muster".

4-Star General USAF is a Drummer

This is directly from StumptownBlogger.com:

Do you remember the Ventures and Babbitt the drummer who played "Walk Don't Run"?Do any of you remember the USAF Four Star General George Babbitt from Tacoma, WA? Anyone who thought the military is all spit and polish and discipline?Pretty interesting. General Babbitt was a drummer at one time for the Ventures.This is cool. Watch it. You will love it if you like rock n' roll.Some of you probably don't remember the Ventures. Those that do, enjoy the clip. It should bring a smile to your face.