The Drummer Boy, an Essay

(photo from Helen More's website)
An essay by Helen Marie Melly More, Marlborough, Massachusetts, 7 July 2002

Pvt. John W. Morgan
Company A & G - 104th PA
1861 - 1865
John W. Morgan spent four years serving his country during the Civil War and returned home a much wiser 19 year old.

Just prior to the Christmas season in 1861, John Morgan, son of Harvey Morgan, boarded the old stage that traveled from Yardley to Bristol at the Fallsington Hotel. He was only 15 years old, eager to be at the front and dreaming of glory. The first destination on his long journey was Doylestown, the county seat of Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

He was expected, but the equipment for the 104th Ringgold Regiment at Camp Lacy had not arrived, so he along with other recruits were quartered for two weeks at the government's expense at Oram's Hotel, standing on the site of the future Lenape Hall. During their wait they were instructed in "police duty", pitching tents, and other skills they would need in the near future.

John Hargrave, the 104th's drum major, took the drummer boys in hand, teaching them the manipulations of the fascinating drumsticks. All in due course it would become clear that the rhythmic beating would set the marching pace and, in trying times, bring cheer and boost the morale.

The drums were heavy and the barrels of the United States regulation drums were too long for many of the boys to be able to carry them clear of the ground. Later Colonel W.W.H. Davis won the hearts of the boys when he went to Philadelphia and ordered smaller drums for his smaller boys, of which John Morgan was one. "It is against the rules to beat the drum on both ends at the same time", Davis told the bewildered boys. Davis relaxed a bit and explained "I mean one end with the drum sticks and the other end beating the ground as you drag it over the bumps and ridges."

Morgan was asked if Colonel Davis was kind to them, "Oh, yes, indeed", he replied. "May I tell you of a visit I made to him long ago, years long after those stormy years together"? John then explained: Colonel Davis' eyesight at the close of a long life of ninety years had become impaired. He placed his hand on John's shoulder and said, "This is one of my boys, is it not? Morgan of the happy drum sticks? Ah's manys the time I had to take you little codgers, one in front of me on my horse and one behind as I ferried you across creeks and marshes."

John Morgan's prized possession was his drum, "I love it, though I recall to this day the over-tired muscles after a long day's march over Northern fields and Southern miles, scorching sun and blinding storms, when the drum grew heavier and heavier until it took all the grit a fellow had, not to let the others know just how near a body came to collapsing. Then someone would shout 'lively there, boys,' and then the little fellows went at it with renewed vigor."

"Back home we thought of the war as all glory. I remember how I first became interested in the drum. During Lincoln's first election, Stony Hill boasted a fife and drum corps that was in great demand for the political parades. I marched proudly in those processions carrying the tassels of the banner, but it was the music that really stirred me. I asked a friend to make me a set of drumsticks, which he did. I practiced faithfully, beating out some sort of tatoo on hay scales, boxes or anything that came my way."

"Seeing how desirous I was of learning to drum, Charles Lewis kindly taught me two or three beats, and from then on my one ambition was to be a drummer boy. When the call came for the enlistment of drummer boys to serve in the Civil War, as young as I was, I went post haste to Doylestown and enlisted."

The Stoney Hill drum corps, known as the Cooper Shop Band, had awakened the dormant music within the lad, and thus gave to the war, "The Drummer Boy of Fallsington". Pvt. Morgan served until February 1864, when he was discharged. Because of his fine penmanship he signed many of the discharges under orders of his Captain, John E. Corcoran, including his own. The Drummer Boy immediately re-enlisted as a veteran volunteer and served until the end of the war and was discharged under general order in 1865.

When asked about the service he rendered, he replied that he could not recite from memory but that he had a partial list from the War Department at Washington. "The 104th Regiment left the State of Pennsylvania for the front, November 1861; went into camp at Georgetown, D.C. March 29, 1862; moved to Fortress Monroe, Virginia; was assigned to First Brigade, Third Division, Fourth Corps, Army of the Potomoc; participated in Siege of Yorktown, April 5th to May 2nd, 1862; was in the Battle of Williamsburg, Virginia; May 5th, skirmishes at Seven Pines, Savage Station and Chickahominy, Battle of Fair Oaks, and many more engagements".

Upon returning home, John Morgan took up his residence in Tullytown, where he resided for forty-four years in one home. He would often tell stories of the four years spent in the thick of things. Some were pleasing or humorous, and others pathetic instances, all the while handling his prized drum.

John W. Morgan
Born: 20 January 1845 (Philadelphia, Penn.)
Parents: Pvt. Harvey Morgan (20th Penn. Cavalry) and Amanda Melvina King
Spouse: Phoebe A. Moon
Died: 8 May 1922 (Tullytown, Bucks County, Penn.)

"John Morgan's military background was obtained from a 1930 newspaper in a column called The Passing Years by Louise White Watson, and shared with we descendants of Union Army Soldiers who served with the 104th Pennsylvania. I dedicate this chapter to those brave, young Lads in all Civil War Regimental Units who, with their prized drums, truly did make a difference."

Copyright © 1997 by Helen Marie More. This copy contributed for use in
the USGenWeb Archives. HMore@compuserve.com or visit http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/HMore/ or
http://files.usgwarchives.org/pa/bucks/military/morg0001.txt

Behind the Scenes in the Musical Instrument Department of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

I had the good fortune to spend an evening recently with Jayson Dobney, Associate Curator of Musical Instruments of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Jayson may be the only academic studying percussion instruments and his credits are impressive. In addition to being an accomplished percussionist, the work he did for his master's degree "Innovations in American Snare Drums" 1850-1920, M.M. Thesis (Vermillion: University of South Dakota, 2003) has allowed him to accumulate a tremendous amount of knowledge about drums of all kinds, including rope drums, among other things, the principal focus of this blog.

Jayson is a graduate of the University of South Dakota, in Vermillion, South Dakota, where he earned a bachelor of music degree with a double major in music education and piano performance. He twice won the University's piano concerto competition, performing with the university orchestra in 1996 and 2000. He has collaborated with many other musicians in state, regional, and national competitions.

He has also been a teaching assistant at the University of South Dakota while he pursued a master of music degree in the history of musical instruments. He has worked with scholars and the collections of America's Shrine to Music Museum, a world-renowned collection located in Vermillion, S.D. And he served internships at the National Museum of American History and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Musical Instrument Department.

In 2003-4 Jayson had a fellowship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art where he worked to create an annotated checklist of the percussion instruments in the MMA’s musical instrument collection, with an emphasis on nineteenth- and twentieth-century drums.

About six months ago, Jayson visited my "vault" where I store some of my collection of rope and other drums. He has had his head in some of my old drums shells, once exclaiming excitedly, "hey, this is a Soistmann" upon finding a handwritten pencil signature inside a drum that he appeared to be wearing like a motorcycle helmet.

So, last week I visited him and he took me into the museum's “vault” where musical instruments of all kinds are stored while waiting to be exhibited or just as specimens of original instruments for study purposes by researchers.

Among the drums in storage is a Civil War eagle drum that’s been at the museum since 1898, possibly untouched by restorers (except, as Terry Cornett of Alabama recently observed, for the relatively recent appearance of three leather ears that can be seen in the photo below as the third, fourth and fifth ears, not present in an earlier photo) since it arrived, all original! The paint job is near perfect and up close, brush strokes are clearly visible. Three screw holes in the bottom counterhoop and a dirt outline marked the place that a long-gone snare strainer was once affixed.


The leather pulls were the most interesting part for me. These pulls look like the maker took a rectangular piece of leather about 1-1/2” x 4”, folded it in half and then ran a leather lace (like shoe lace) through two holes on each side of the fold, making a square knot and leaving it at that – very simple.

I also attended a discussion sponsored by The Amati (Friends of the Department of Musical Instruments) titled "Seen or Heard". Speakers were curator Kenneth Moore and conservator Susana Caldeira of Department of Musical Instruments at the Met, and Eric Grossman, Curator of String Instruments, The Julliard School. There is much common ground with drums and many of the same issues -- store or restore, play or don't play, replace consumables or not (viz. strings on string instruments; snares, ropes and pulls on rope drums). And, as in the world of rope drums, there are many views.

My take-away was an understanding of a museum's important role in preserving musical instruments (as other historical objects) in their original state for future study, replication, and even perhaps occasional playing. Preservation allows interested researchers to see actual specimens of genuine articles decades or centuries after original manufacture. Although some would criticize museums on the ground that they don’t display everything they have, one should consider that that is neither possible nor necessarily desirable. Also, many museums allow serious researchers access to their stored assets under controlled but reasonable conditions. That’s a fine trade-off for the important role museums serve in preserving instruments that otherwise could fall into the hands of restorers of varying degrees of skill who, despite good intentions, might destroy forever the only evidence of original condition in existence.

The discussion was followed by a short concert by The Juilliard School's Attacca Quartet playing "String Quartet in G major, K. 387" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with the Met's violin "Francesca", made by Antonio Stradivari in Cremona, Italy, ca. 1694 (played by Keiko Tokunaga), and its violin "Antonius" (pictured below), made by Antonio Stradivari in 1717 (played by Amy Schroeder), as well as The Juilliard School's 1699 Giovanni Grancino viola (played by Gillian Gallagher) and 1719 violincello "Duke of Marlborough", made by Antonio Stradivari (played by Andrew Yee).


What a sound! Each player spoke about his/her experience in playing the 300-year old instrument. There were about 50 people in attendance and a reception followed.

Fredericksburg's Civil War Museum

"Civil War Life – The Soldier’s Museum"
By Timothy Cohen
Canaan, New Hampshire
I spent a week recently in Virginia in the Spotsylvania area and wow – there are some wonderful drums there.

Snare Drum:

First were these beauties at “Civil War Life – The Soldier’s Museum”, 4712 Southpoint Parkway – Fredericksburg, Virginia ( http://civilwar-life.com/ ). Curator: Terry Thomann.

The snare drum is a wonderful drum that is described as follows on the museum card:

Maker: Abner Stevens, Pittsfield, Mass.
Date: Circa 1820

This is a very unusual drum. It was probably used by a Pre-Civil War Militia Unit. Note the unique painted decoration which consists of a floral design made to resemble a Federal eagle. The sling is original to the 1820 era. This is one of the most complete early drums known. Everything about this drum is original including the heads, rope, leather rope tighteners (ears), rims, gut snares, and body. It still has the original makers label inside.

The snare drum features pressed snares with no strainer present.

Bass Drum:

The bass drum is fascinating as well. I was particularly interested in the red hoop around the center of the drum – one of very few I’ve seen with this style.

The museum’s card reads:

Maker: Abner Stevens, Pittsfield, Mass.
Date: 1820

This large size drum was popular in the early militia period. By 1861, the intense political crisis stirred within the country. Patriotic sentiment heightened in both the North and South. Every city and small rural village reflected the serious situation. Newly formed militia units nervously drilled in anticipation of the war. For many of the new companies, old drums were dusted off and repaired by grandfathers for a younger generation. President Lincoln’s request for 75,000 volunteer militiamen in April 1861, was answered by soldiers marching to the beat of the drums.

Note the tin overlap repair on the bass drum rim.

If in the Virginia area, this is a great visit with a good collection of brass instruments and fifes, as well as uniforms, swords, firearms, and a large collection of stereo-optic slides and more!

In Memory of a Young Civil War Drummer

Brooklyn Eagle, June 13, 1861


This white zinc statue of a Union army drummer boy memorializes Clarence Mackenzie (1848- 1861), the first Brooklynite to die in during the Civil War. Mackenzie was the 12-year-old drummer for Brooklyn's Thirteenth Regiment. He was killed in a "friendly fire" incident in 1861, while stationed in Annapolis, Maryland. Mackenzie is located within the Soldiers' Lot area, a section donated by Green-Wood for Civil War soldiers and veterans.
Green-Wood Cemetery National Register #97000228

Brooklyn - Green-wood Cemetery: Drummer Boy Clarence Mackenzie

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Inscription. Erected by the Drum and Bugle Corps of the 13th Regt. N.G., S.N.Y., in memory of Clarence D. MacKenzie, born Feb. 8, 1849, Died at Annapolis, MD., June 11, 1861, aged 12 yrs 4 mos 3 dys

Back of Monument:
This young life was the first offering from King’s County in the War of the Rebellion

Erected. 1886 by Drum and Bugle Corps of the 13th Regt. N.G., S.N.Y.

Location. 40° 39.266′ N, 73° 59.303′ W. Marker is in Brooklyn, New York, in Kings County. Marker is on Linden Avenue, on the right when traveling south. Click for map. Marker is in Green-Wood Cemetery on Linden Avenue (Section 115, Lot 13536). Marker is in this post office area: Brooklyn NY 11232, United States of America.

More about this marker. The left of the monument contains a military decoration with the words “Our Drummer Boy” and the date of MacKenzie's death, 1861. The right of the monument features crossed flags under the monument erection date of 1886, and the inscription “Our Drummer Boy”.

Source: HMdb.org THE HISTORICAL MARKER DATABASE

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Clarence D. McKenzie
Drummer Boy
Children in the Civil War era wanted very much to be part of the excitement of the war. They could assist their mothers in preparing bandages; they could write letters to their friends and family members fighting in the war; boys could join the army as drummer boys or as fifers. This is what Brooklyn born Clarence McKenzie did at the age of 12. He joined the Thirteenth Regiment, New York State Militia as a drummer boy. Soon after arriving in Annapolis, in June 1861, he lost his life when a musket accidentally discharged. A statue in his honor stands in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.

Source: Brooklyn in the Civil War

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Clarence D. McKenzie Monument
Green-Wood Cemetery
Clarence D. McKenzie, drummer boy for Brooklyn's 13th Regiment, was killed early in the Civil War. He was only 12 years old. His funeral was held on July 14, 1861, and 3,000 people attended. This monument stands above his grave in Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn. To view the inscription on the monument, see Document 28. For more information about Clarence, see Document 26.

Source: Brooklyn in the Civil War

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Clarence D. McKenzie Monument (inscription)
Green-Wood Cemetery
Clarence D. McKenzie, the 12-year old drummer boy for Brooklyn's 13th Regiment, died on June 11, 1861. This monument in his honor stands above his grave in Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery. The inscription reads: "ERECTED BY THE DRUM AND BUGLE CORPS OF THE 13TH REGT. N.G., S.N.Y., IN MEMORY OF CLARENCE D. MACKENZIE, BORN FEB. 8, 1849, DIED AT ANNAPOLIS, MD., JUNE 11, 1861, AGED 12 YRS, 4 MOS, 3 DYS."

Source: Brooklyn in the Civil War

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Clarence D. McKenzie, a drummer boy for Brooklyn’s 13th Regiment was killed at Annapolis, Md., when he was only 12. His funeral, held on July 14, 1861, was attended by 3,000 people. A statute of the boy and his drum was erected to commemorate his sacrifice and is still one of the most visited graves in Brooklyn’s Greenwood cemetery today.

The actual number of boy soldiers in the Civil War is uncertain. Although there have been exaggerations, careful historical analysis suggests that between 250,000 and 420,000 boy soldiers, including many in their early teens to even younger, served in the Union and Confederate armies. On the whole, between 10 and 20 percent of recruits were under 18. Applying modern humanitarian terminology, the war to end slavery was in large part fought by child soldiers in numbers ever greater than those found in contemporary wars.

"Child Soldiers: Victims or Heroes?" by David Rosen, FDU Magazine, Fairleigh Dickinson University, 2005.

Other Resources:

Also see Brooklyn School Decides To March to The Beat of a Different Drum by Mary Frost (mfrost@brooklyneagle.net), published online 03-13-2008.

And see ClarenceMcKenzieNYTArticle.pdf.

And see "The Little Drummer Boy" by B.R. Maryniak

TITLE: The little drummer boy, Clarence D. McKenzie, the child of the Thirteenth regiment, N.Y.S.M., and the child of the Mission Sunday school
AUTHORS: Bingham, Luther Goodyear, 1798-1877
PUBLISHED: New York, Board of publication of the Reformed Protestant Dutch church, 1861.
SUBJECT:
McKenzie. Clarence David, 1849-1861
New York infantry. 13th regt., 1847-1900 (Militia)
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 144 p. front. (port.) 16 cm.
NOTES: Microfilm. Washington, D. C., Library of Congress, Photoduplication Service.

Clayton Holmes Drum, 1937

Ancient style "snare drum" handmade by Clayton Holmes Chester CT. Dated inside 2 [sic, 4] March 1937. The drum was made for John Francis a member of the Chester Connecticut Drum Corps and used by him until the late forties. It was obtained from Olive Francis Redfield of Essex CT in 1955. Measures 18 and one half inches high by 17 and three quarters wide. Excellent condition.


One of a Kind ANTIQUES
Established 1975 | Online 1995
36 Plains Road Unit D, Essex, Connecticut 06426

Nathan Gove, Civil War Drummer, 11 Years Old

[Note. Terry Cornett contributed material for this article.]

Young Nathan Gove:
Pencil notation on the back of the photo indicates that Nathan Gove was with the 12th New Hampshire. Terry Cornett suggests that this would have been before he was attached to the 2nd Brigade Band, when it was stationed at Port Royal, on Hilton Head Island.

"The Library of Congress houses the band books from this unit, nee 3rd NH, and the small drum (snare) book belonged to Nathan. He annotated several pages, including the page with The Star Spangled-Banner, mentioning that it was played when the US flag was raised over Ft. Sumter, April 14, 1865."

Terry Cornett
Huntsville, AL
ropedrum.otbrass.com

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Nathan Gove and the 3rd N.H. Regimental Band:
"Nathan Marcel Gove (b. 1849) was only eleven when he enlisted (8/26/1861, per Bale and Prescott Family Roots) as a drummer boy for the 3rd Regiment of N.H. Volunteers. He served with the band at Hilton Head, S.C., between 1862 and 1863. The band’s last performance relating to the Civil War was in 1865 at Fort Sumter as part of the celebration of the restoration of the American flag. The band continues today in Gove’s home town of Concord as the Nevers’ Second Regiment Band.” Learning about People in New Hampshire through Many Eyes

Times Were Tough:
"Actual illness was widespread at Hilton Head, particularly in the form of dysentery and malaria, which afflicted civilian and soldier alike. Neither band ever lost any members, but most of the musicians were taken with fevers or other sickness at one time or another. By the time of the regimental band's voyage home in September 1862, drummer boy Nathan Gove was dangerously ill with malaria. He managed to recover enough to return south with the Post Band in April 1863; but even after an adult career in the U.S. Navy, chosen in the hope that going to sea would improve his health, he would write to the Pension Office in 1891, 'Entering the army at 11 years of age as drummer my service for nearly four years cost me my health and education and changed the whole current of my life. I have never been well since.'" New Hampshire Bands in Civil War South Carolina, chapter by Richard C. Spicer in Bugle Resounding: Music and Musicians of the Civil War Era, edited by Bruce C. Kelley and Mark A. Snell, 2004, Shepherd University, p. 96.

Possible Revolutionary War Drum

This interesting relic is currently being offered on eBay (item #110254458653). The seller, from whom I recently purchased a large pre-Civil War snare drum shell with hoops (eBay item #170214783047), reports having purchased a small vintage American military drum collection a number of years ago from which he is now offering this drum for sale.

The Seller thinks that this drum dates from the Revolutionary War and came out of upstate New York. He reports that the drum is painted and that one of the designs seems to be a snake that can be seen in the first photo along with two repairs made with tin. The drum shell is about 15-3/4" tall and 21" in diameter. The counterhoops are 2" wide.

Adairsville, Georgia Confederate Drum with Period Drumsticks, ca. 1860s

[This article copied from the article archive of the website of Historical Auctions without permission, pursuant to the fair use doctrine. No claim of original generation or added content is made. The material is exactly as it appears on that organization's website. It is reprinted here for the interesting and important facts stated.]

This is an extremely rare home-made drum with a pencil inscription identifying this drum to Adairsville GA. This drum is 100% original and 100% complete except for two of the leather tensioners which are missing the "ears".

The drum measures 15 ¼" in diameter and is 9 ¼" in height. The vellum heads are in near perfect condition as is the sinew snare, the cord and the leather "rabbit ears" tensioners. The wooden shell as well as the wooden hoops are fastened together with hand made lead rivets. The 2 maple drum sticks are original to the drum.

This drum was featured in Gary Hendershott's catalog #119. The accompanying write-up indicates this drum was bought from an Adairsville GA family by a Georgia collector. The family indicated it had belonged to an ancestor and had remained in the family since the Civil War.

The pencil inscription is visible but somewhat difficult to read, but translated as "I received this on January 1, 1863 at Adairsville Georgia". Currently in a private Tennessee Collection.

Condition: Fine-very fine.

Sold for: Not Sold
Ended: Nov 30, 2007
Lot: 72338 Auction: 674
Heritage Auction Galleries, www.Heritage.HA.com

The $28,000 Drum of New Bern, NC

[This article copied from the article archive of the website of Tryon Palace without permission, pursuant to the fair use doctrine. No claim of original generation or added content is made. The material is exactly as it appears on that organization's website. It is reprinted here for the interesting and important facts stated.]


Tryon Palace purchases drum used at Battle of New Bern for $28,000 - Weekend auction in Asheville nets artifacts

Just the thought of "The Old North State" drum rolls coming home to New Bern brought applause from a crowd of about 300 attending an Asheville weekend auction of historic artifacts from artist Bob Timberlake's collection, said Dean Knight, Tryon Palace registrar.

Knight attended the auction at Brunk Auctions where a Civil War era drum manufactured in Asheville and bearing the inscription "captured at the Battle of Newbern March 14, 1862" was purchased by Tryon Palace Sunday for $28,000. [Note: Another report of the auction puts the winning bid at $32,200. See "The Bob Timberlake Sale—The First 25% to 33%" by Pete Prunkl, Maine Antique Digest, 2006 (copy below).]

"Our goal was to get it back to New Bern," said Kay Williams, Tryon Palace Sites and Gardens director, of the bentwood drum with old and probably the original brown and blue painted surface. It has "The Old North State" stenciled on its side with a star, and has string, brass and leather mounts.

Knight said the bidding Sunday went quickly and the price went up quickly as well, with the drum one of the highest priced items of the hundreds composing about 15 percent of Timberlake's vast collection.

"Then boom, it's over. Everything gets real quiet," Knight said, "and auctioneer Robert Brunk looked at me and said, ‘Can I tell them?' When he said it was going back to New Bern, everyone just applauded, 300-plus. They all seemed very pleased it's coming back."

The drum had been in New Bern in recent years since Timberlake added it to his collection and was displayed at the New Bern Riverfront Convention Center, Williams said.

It may now be first displayed by Tryon Palace in the Civil War Room at the New Bern Academy, with the planned N.C. History Education Center a future option.

"We haven't done exhibit design (for the history education center) yet so I can't say exactly how it will figure in but our interest is in acquiring objects that help us better tell the story of this part of North Carolina," Williams said.

"Whenever you are acquiring an object and have even a single inscription on it, it becomes so much more valuable," said Knight. "You can take that inscription as a great clue as to its history, and in this case, there are a whole series of inscriptions."

Information provided by the auction house notes three pencil inscriptions inside the drum including one identifying E.M. Clayton of Asheville as manufacturer. Inscribed on the inside bottom head is "L.L.Lamb/Fichburg/Mass."

Levi Lamb is listed in the 1860 Census for Worcester County, Mass., as a 21-year-old mechanic. Civil War records list a Levi Lamb as a musician with the 21st Massachusetts Infantry, according to the pre-auction data.

Edwin W. Clayton was listed in the 1860 Census for Buncombe County as a cabinet maker.

Tryon Palace also purchased a Civil War briar pipe bowl from the same collection. The $550 pipe had "New Bern, NC" carved on it as well as leaf and floral decoration.

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See also: "Timberlake Collection Brings $2 Million At Brunk's Auction In Asheville"
By David S. Smith, Aug 1st, 2006

The Civil War drum marked The Old North State was captured in the battle at New Bern, N.C. It sold for $32,200 going to Tryon Palace in New Bern, an Eighteenth Century palatial estate that was home to the governor and is now a museum. The boy's Confederate coat sold for $2,415, and the yellow pine cupboard realized $1,495.

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Brunk Auctions, Asheville, North Carolina
The Bob Timberlake Sale — The First 25% to 33%
Maine Antique Digest
by Pete Prunkl

To Bob Timberlake, every item he consigned to the July 15 and 16 sale at Brunk Auctions, Asheville, North Carolina, was personal. These were not just 1000 decoys, drawings, paintings, shotguns, canoes, pitchers, or quilts. Each item held a genuine significance for him and his family. Twice during previews, this affable and renowned landscape artist and designer from Lexington, North Carolina, took the time to share the stories behind a few of the items collected over the past 35 years.

First were the paintings: 43 Wyeth lots, including 17 originals. In 1968, when Timberlake was undecided about his choice of profession, he sought advice from Dr. Margaret I. Handy. Handy, a friend and art patron, said, "Why not call Andy?" She offered Andrew Wyeth's phone number.

Timberlake, an unschooled devotee of realistic art, called and later visited the noted artist. "I draw all night and work all day," Timberlake explained to Wyeth. "I have to either quit art or do it." Wyeth's encouragement led Timberlake to leave his day job with the family gas company in 1970 and paint full time. In 1980 he was asked by the U.S. Postal Service to design a Christmas stamp. Today Bob Timberlake is a brand. In addition to paintings and prints, his name is attached to everything from clothing and furniture to dinnerware and Christmas ornaments.

In appreciation for Wyeth's influence, Timberlake began collecting his prints. "It was all I could afford," he said. Later, as his reputation and income grew, he was able to purchase collotypes, drawings, watercolors, and oils. Wyeths remain in Timberlake's vast collection, which may number 3000 to 4000 varied items. The artist was uncertain if this Brunk sale represented one-fourth or one-third of his collection.

The works of the Wyeth family dominated the auction's first day. Gable End, a 1986 signed watercolor by Andrew Wyeth (est. $50,000/100,000), and View of Barn behind John Andres's Farm, Bullock Road, Chadds Ford, an oil on canvas by Andrew's father, N.C. Wyeth (est. $60,000/80,000), each brought $195,500 (including buyer's premium). The winning bidder for Gable End lowered his head as the sale concluded, and auctioneer Robert Brunk had to ask, "You were bidding?" "Yes," he said. "I was sleeping and bidding."

The N.C. Wyeth oil went to a phone bidder. "What attracted me to this painting was Wyeth's treatment of the sky," Timberlake had told Brunk before the sale.

Another by Andrew Wyeth that aroused the faithful was Road to the Mill, a circa 2001 15¾" x 27¼" watercolor, purchased for $138,000 by Michael Rainey, bidding for a client. Rainey, a former Marine Corps fighter pilot from Beaufort, South Carolina, also won Andrew Wyeth's Quiet Harbor, a 13¾" x 22" watercolor ($97,750); Goose Basket, a 1987 painting in gouache and gum arabic on Strathmore paper by Jamie Wyeth ($74,750); and Archie's Roof, Study for Night Lamp, a signed, inscribed, and dated (1950) pencil drawing by Andrew Wyeth ($46,000).

The most endearing Andrew Wyeth, an illustrated two-page thank-you letter to Ed and Barbara Coffin for their gift of a rowboat, soared to eight times its high estimate. The sweet note with a 6¼" x 8¼" illustration of the gift boat opened at $6000 and finished at $92,000.

Shortly after the conclusion of the sale's first day, Brunk said that all the Wyeth originals sold for over twice their high estimates.

As he continued his preview gallery tour, Timberlake next picked up a pewter teapot that his mother told him had been used at the Edenton Tea Party. That gathering on October 25, 1774, linked female patriots in North Carolina to the fledgling nation's condemnation of the Boston Port Act. "My mother told me to be careful of this," he said. The teapot with two pewter plates sold for $316.25. "There is no way to prove that it was late eighteenth century," said Brunk as the teapot crossed the block.

On the floor near his massive decoy collection, Timberlake lifted a pine field cradle. He appreciated its clever expanding design and believed that it was a South Carolina slave cradle. As the cradle sold for $632.50, Brunk, who is always wary of anecdotes, announced, "We can't prove [the association with enslaved persons]."

Of the 34 full-size and salesman's sample canoes in the sale, Timberlake stopped at a restored 16' Kennebec with brass label on the bow, two woven cane seats, and open gunnels. He compared the larger canoe with an identical display model or salesman's sample in its original orange, green, and black paint. The large Kennebec went to a phone bidder at $10,925. Its smaller version (5'6") also went to a phone bidder at $10,350.

Early in his career canoes helped solidify Timberlake's reputation. He painted Iron Eyes Cody in a canoe for an anti-littering advertising campaign in the 1970's.

Two props used in Timberlake's painting South Carolina's Heritage (a boy's Confederate coat and a Civil War era drum found in Staunton, Virginia) were next on Timberlake's improvised tour. The coat, he said, was fashioned in bright red by the drummer's mother to protect him on the battlefield. By tradition, drummer boys were not fired upon if they could be seen. The boy was captured, in Timberlake's account, and served as a houseboy for the commandant of the Staunton prison camp.

Purcell Jones of Morehead City, North Carolina, purchased the coat with its 20 authentic South Carolina Civil War buttons for $2415. The drum went to a phone bidder at $5520.

While the drummer boy's instrument was a sentimental favorite, another Civil War drum kicked off a war of its own. Representatives from Tryon Palace, North Carolina's first capitol, now restored in New Bern, fought a determined on-site bidder for a drum manufactured in Asheville, North Carolina. On the side was stenciled "The Old North State," an early nickname for the state. On the head was a handwritten inscription, "Captured at the battle of Newbern [sic] N.C. March 14, 1862, 21st Mass Vols.…" Inside the bottom head was another inscription, "L.L. Lamb Fichberg [sic] Mass," for Levi Lamb, a musician for the 21st Massachusetts Infantry. An examination of census and drum maker records led Brunk's staff to raise the attributions to highly probable.

Brunk opened the bidding on the captured drum at $10,000. Profound silence followed. At $5000 a card went up. After a two-minute volley, an opposing on-site bidder, ironically a former Tryon Palace board member unaware of who his competitor was, did not respond to Tryon Palace's $32,200 bid. The bidder for the historic site also purchased the next lot, a Civil War pipe of carved briar marked "New Berne, NC" and "1864" for $632.50.

Timberlake's last tour stop was the decoys. He had consigned over 170 lots, the majority with repaint, reheads, and shotgun wounds, from at least 95 carvers. "I hunted with these," he said pointing to three Ronnie Wade decoys from Knotts Island, North Carolina. "They work!" The lot sold for $805.

"This is one of my favorites," he said about a wounded Maryland decoy. "That's a working decoy." It was in a lot of four that brought $1265.

"Ronnie Wade, a third-generation carver, made these for me," said the artist of seven duck and goose decoys made from lobster floats. The lot fetched $1035.

None of Timberlake's favorites reached the level of a 25" root-head swan decoy from Narrows Island Club, Currituck Sound, North Carolina, with old repaint and two horseshoe weights underneath. A floor battle between Dick McIntyre, a southern decoy specialist from Seabrook, South Carolina, and another decoy enthusiast drove the swan to $18,400. McIntyre, who captured the swan, is associated with Collectible Old Decoys.

Like peanut butter and jelly, decoys go with shotguns, and Timberlake consigned 37. Although he did not choose favorites, collectors did, and Parker Brothers manufactured them. A phone bidder paid $19,550 for a double-barrel Parker Brothers shotgun in .410 gauge weighing 6 pounds, 5.6 ounces. The 26" barrel had Del Grego engraving, and the gun was in a custom-made case. During preview, the most handled shotgun was easily the Parker Brothers .28-gauge double-barrel with a patent date of 1878. Many would-be on-site bidders were shut out of the competition for the .28; it was all phones and absentees until a phone bidder prevailed at $11,500.

Timberlake assured everyone who accompanied him around the gallery that he was not dying or bankrupt. His wife, Kay, had asked him to cull the collection. He said he had invested money that he had saved for his children in art and antiques. Proceeds from the sale of the paintings in the sale, he said, will go into trusts for the children. "Art and antiques were a better investment than the stock market," he said.

Total hammer price for the sale's 1120 lots came to $2,003,385 (as given on Brunk's prices realized list). The 17 original Wyeths contributed about 48% toward that sum.

For more information about Brunk Auctions, visit (www. brunkauctions.com) or call (828) 254-6846. For more information about Bob Timberlake, see his biography written with Jerry Bledsoe, Partial to Home: A Memoir of the Heart, Down Home Press, 2000.

© 2006 by Maine Antique Digest

Late 19th Century Hand-Made Drum

[This article copied from the article archive of the website of Historical Auctions without permission, pursuant to the fair use doctrine. No claim of original generation or added content is made. The material is exactly as it appears on that organization's website. It is reprinted here for the interesting and important facts stated.]

Late 19th Century Hand-Made Drum. This wooden drum is a nice display piece with tension ropes and tacked sides. The heads have come loose from the shell of the drum, and there is a 6" tear along the edge of the top head. The snares are intact along the bottom head. The drum comes in a custom-made wooden box with a pair of mahogany drumsticks that are of 20th century construction.

Sold for: $286.80 (includes BP) Bid Source: Live: Floor
Ended: Jun 24, 2007
Lot: 74250 Auction: 663
Heritage Auction Galleries, www.Heritage.HA.com

19th Century Painted Maple Drum

[This article copied from the article archive of the website of Historical Auctions without permission, pursuant to the fair use doctrine. No claim of original generation or added content is made. The material is exactly as it appears on that organization's website. It is reprinted here for the interesting and important facts stated.]

A 19th Century Painted Maple Drum This maple drum dates to the mid to late 19th century and has a beautiful painted eagle on the side of the drum. The rims have separated from the edges of the drum and the strings are loose at the bottom. The tension ropes are new and the drum measures 15 ½" in height and is 16 ½" in diameter.

Sold for: $1,434.00 (includes BP) Bid Source: Internet
Ended: Jun 23, 2007
Lot: 72130 Auction: 663
Heritage Auction Galleries, www.Heritage.HA.com

Compare this Drum in the Collection of Mark Goldberg:


The Heritage Auction Drum again:


Conclusion: It's the same drum!

Iowa Volunteers Drum

[This article copied from the article archive of the website of Historical Auctions without permission, pursuant to the fair use doctrine. No claim of original generation or added content is made. The material is exactly as it appears on that organization's website. It is reprinted here for the interesting and important facts stated.]

14" high x 17" wide, this drum has seen some action! The top head has extensive repairs and is backed by cardboard. The bottom remains torn in two places. Some original red paint remains and it has been given new rope. The best part about this drum is the old ink inscription on the top head: "F. W. Kimble, Drummer Co B 14th Reg. Iowa Inf. Vols.; War of 1861". Comes with two drumsticks.


Sold for: $3,585.00 (includes BP) Bid Source: Live: Floor
Ended: Nov 30, 2006
Lot: 25032 Auction: 642
Heritage Auction Galleries, www.Heritage.HA.com

Note: The Civil War Gazette adds the following information about this drum:

Francis W. Kimble has a listed residence of Agency City, IA when he enlisted at age 19 on 10/15/62 as a drummer. He mustered into Company B., 14th Iowa Infantry on 11/26/62. He mustered out on 11/16/64.

The 14th Iowa saw action at Ft. Donleson, Shiloh (Pittsburg Landing), Vicksburg, and engagements related to the Red River Expedition.

Field Drum of the 100th New York Volunteers, Battery Wagner

[This article copied from the article archive of the website of Historical Auctions without permission, pursuant to the fair use doctrine. No claim of original generation or added content is made. The material is exactly as it appears on that organization's website. It is reprinted here for the interesting and important facts stated.

Note also that the drum evidently has been disassembled and put back together with the shell upside down. Hard to figure how that happened given the shell might have had a snare bed which, if it existed, was ignored.]

A Field Drum of the 100th New York Volunteers, Battery Wagner This field drum was used by the 100th New York Volunteer Infantry, a unit that fought at the famous assault on Battery Wagner on Morris Island, South Carolina. Having already seen action at Williamsburg and Malvern Hill, the unit was witness to the slaughter at Battery Wagner in July 1863. They were present at General Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House as well.


This 11 1/2" tall 16 1/2" diameter field drum is made of maple and still has its snares intact. Both the upper and lower drum heads are present with only a slight buckle of the lower rim. The ropes and leather rope tighteners are present as well, the tighteners having two stars on each of the pulls. Painted in red on the side of the drum is '100 N. Y. S.' Included with this drum are two discharge papers from a soldier in the 100th New York, private Charles D. Ford. They both measure 8" x 10" and have been repaired at the folds with tape, but are a good connection to the drum and otherwise in good condition. The overall condition of the drum is very good making it a nice piece from a historic Civil War unit. Estimate: $3,000 - $4,000.

Sold for: $3,346.00 (includes BP) Bid Source: Live: Floor
Ended: Jun 23, 2007
Lot: 72128 Auction: 663
Heritage Auction Galleries, www.Heritage.HA.com

William Henry Harrison: 1840 Dated Political Parade Drum

[This article copied from the article archive of the website of Historical Auctions without permission, pursuant to the fair use doctrine. No claim of original generation or added content is made. The material is exactly as it appears on that organization's website. It is reprinted here for the interesting and important facts stated.]

A Very Rare 1840-Dated Political Parade Drum. These brightly painted drums, often with an American eagle device, are well-known from regular and irregular military units of the mid-19th-century. However, a political drum like this is unusual, indeed. On the side is a hand-painted folk art depiction of an eagle with patriotic shield on chest and clutching arrows. There is also some very typical brass tacking as additional decoration. Both drumheads are original, and one retains the vestiges of painted political slogans, worn off by long use. Still visible is "Tippecanoe" in large block letters, curved around the top edge, and "AD 1840" below. A few traces of other lettering are unfortunately indecipherable, but there is enough here to attribute this drum to the 1840 campaign without question. The wood drum itself is in exceptional condition, with bright color and minimum wear on the painted area, and all the brass tacks original and in place. The very survival of the original hide drumheads, even though worn from use, is rarely seen on drums of this era. Only the ropes and their leather fittings, again usually gone or damaged beyond salvation, are modern replacements. Diameter: 19.5", height: 23". A very special early political display item.


Sold for: $2,270.50 (includes BP) Bid Source: Live: Phone
Ended: Nov 12, 2007
Lot: 25265 Auction: 672
Heritage Auction Galleries, www.Heritage.HA.com

Metal and Wood Civil War Drum

[This article copied from the article archive of the website of Historical Auctions without permission, pursuant to the fair use doctrine. No claim of original generation or added content is made. The material is exactly as it appears on that organization's website. It is reprinted here for the interesting and important facts stated.]

Most Civil War drums were made almost entirely of wood. This rare example has a brass shell with wood rims and rope tension devices. The brass has so darkened over time that unless one examines the drum carefully, it has the appearance of being made from wood.

Condition: At 12¼" in height and nearly 16" in diameter, this drum has its original rawhide snares and leather tighteners intact. Both original drumheads are cracked and torn and the wood rims show aging of their red paint. This drum has seen much field use and is an attractive display piece.

Sold for:
$1,075.50 (includes BP) Bid Source: Live: Phone
Ended: Nov 30, 2007
Lot: 72129 Auction: 663
Heritage Auction Galleries, www.Heritage.HA.com

A Confederate Drum Captured at Beaufort, South Carolina

[This article copied from the article archive of the website of Historical Auctions without permission, pursuant to the fair use doctrine. No claim of original generation or added content is made. The material is exactly as it appears on that organization's website. It is reprinted here for the interesting and important facts stated.]


This Confederate wood drum was captured at Beaufort, South Carolina during the winter of 1861-1862 by Private Daniel M. Reed of Company G, the 50th Pennsylvania Infantry. The family provenance states that Reed was a part of a force camped at Beaufort and that Reed found the drum in an abandoned fort. Reed was killed later that year at Chantilly, Virginia and his personal effects along with this drum were sent back to his family in Pennsylvania.This rough-hewn drum is obviously not Union issue.

Confederate drums are exceedingly rare and most were hand made as is this example liberated by Private Reed. The wood is actually a single wide strip that has been wrapped around and tacked with rows of tacks to secure the piece making the shell of the drum. At 15" in height and 17" in diameter, the drumheads are made of calfskin and are intact with no holes. The tension ropes are of a later date but the leather tighteners appear to be original to the drum. There is a notation that can be seen inside the vent hole of the drum that indicates the drum was "restored and repaired Feb, 1983."The most striking aspect of the drum besides its quality craftsmanship and construction is the eagle and seven stars painted on the side of the drum.

Although somewhat crudely done, the eagle is typical of the Confederate representation with seven stars. The seven stars represent the states, including South Carolina, which seceded from the Union within the first three months before the fall of Fort Sumter. While the image of the eagle and stars are faded and show considerable wear, the fading of the eagle and stars appear to be mostly from age as this drum was removed from service after only several months of use.

This drum is accompanied by an archive of copies of Private Reed's letters he wrote home before he was killed at Chantilly. Also, there are copies of notarized statements from the former owners of the drum stating that it came from the Reed family before being sold in 1982. The drum also has two rough-hewn drumsticks. Estimate: $3,000 - $4,000.

5 bidders, 207 page views

Sold for:
$10,157.50 (includes BP) Bid Source: Mail/Fax
Ended: Jun 23, 2007
Lot: 72129 Auction: 663
Heritage Auction Galleries, www.Heritage.HA.com

HAND-PAINTED MILITIA SNARE DRUM


Sold Date: 10/07/2005
Channel: Auction
Source: Cowan's Auctions Inc.

the front with an image of an eagle clutching six arrows in its talons with seven five-pointed stars. The back side has dark brown paint. The body of the drum banded together by numerous small nails along the seam. With 8 patent leather tensions and corresponding double braided ropes. Both headbands are painted black; the top has 8 laces for increasing tension of the head. Includes a pair of 18` drumsticks. This drum was purportedly collected by Private Daniel M. Reed, a member of Co. G of the 50th Pennsylvania, who was killed in 1862 at the battle of Chantilly, Virginia. According to documentation accompanying the drum, Reed `captured` the drum from an abandoned South Carolina fort during the 50th`s participation as part of an expeditionary force that camped near Beaufort in the fall and early winter of 1861-1862. After Reed`s death, the drum was returned to his family in Pennsylvania. Included are photocopies of a number of letters from Reed`s South Carolina service. Inside of drum`s peephole is an inked notation Restored and repaired Feb, 1983. 15` high x 17.5` diameter.