Bruce and Emmett

[Alan Lloyd]

Friends

Does anyone know the date of publication of B & E? My repro copy says 1865, but I have seen it stated as 1862. Is there a current consensus regarding its use during the war?

[markj]

Re: Bruce and Emmett

Hi Alan,

The short answer is that "B&E" was commercially available during the war, but, from all appearances, it was not widely distributed and, thus, not well-known by field musicians. I base this conclusion on extensive research by Sue Cifaldi, Company of Fifers & Drummers, and myself. Indeed, the earliest advertisement I've found so far for "B&E" dates to only February 1864.

Sue Cifaldi has written a very lengthy article about the alleged authenticity of "B&E"; however, I don't know if she's published it yet. I've seen a draft of the article, and can tell you there's a lot more (and less) to the story of Bruce & Emmett's manual than 0ne would initially think. I believe Sue makes a good case all but demolishing the notion that "B&E" saw widespread use during the war.

This topic has been, in fact, repeatedly debated. Here is a website that, to my knowledge, still includes an extensive discussion of this subject that occurred about a year ago:

http://www.fifeanddrum.org/ (look under "Messages"--you may have to register to get into the message board)

"B&E" doesn't seem to have become really popular until the emergence of the fife & drum corps craze in the 1880's. I can't really tell you as to why CW reenactors have all but adopted "B&E" as the standard. However, I would surmise that it was because it's a) easily available and b) a "one-stop shop" (i.e., very detailed and complete compared to other, earlier manuals).

That's my 2 cents--I'm sure other field musicians (e.g., Jason Wickersty) will provide additional observations that will be helpful to you.

Regards,

Mark Jaeger

[joewhitney]

Re: Bruce and Emmett

1862 is the earliest I've seen for a B&E printing. Someone who has reproduced copies for years altered the date of their cover page to read 1861, but that is inaccurate.

The rarety of B&E is attested to by the fact that only one has ever shown up on ebay, as opposed to many manuals by Howe, Keitch Burditt & Cassidy, and others. That B&E was part of a lot that included the drummer's ID'd presentation drum and handwritten camp duty schedule.

The other factor is that the level of drumming in B&E and versions of the tunes and beats of both the camp duty and other pieces are extremely advanced, as opposed to other tutors of the period, and the much simpler official army versions.

So if you're at a school for musicians and are instructed to learn from the B&E, ask to learn versions from one of the other tutors instead, especially Elias Howe's manuals.

Joe Whitney
2nd SC String Band
MD Line Field Music

[pjdrums96]

Re: Bruce and Emmett

Let's not base the fact that only one B&E manual has shown up on ebay as a valid source of their lack of use. It would be better to state facts such as how many were published, dates, and other types of factual information. Perhaps I have only seen one pair of truly authentic cocoa sticks show up on ebay. Could I then say that their use was not widespread? I, however, have contractors records showing the government purchase of 1,000 sets of cocoa sticks on July 5, 1861.

I'm just saying, ebay should not be used as a reference source for coming to historical conclusions.

Patrick Jones
Camp Chase Fife and Drums

[33rdaladrummer]

Re: Bruce and Emmett

If you look at the American Veteran Fifer, written in 1905 by union veterans, you will find about 10 tunes from Bruce and Emmett's manual. You will find twice that number, about 20 tunes, that are in Howe's 1861 Drum and Fife Instructor and also some tunes that are found in Howe's 1851 School for the Fife. Also in AVF there are some tunes that can be found in H. C. Hart's 1862 manual. Without any information about actual sales figures, this gives some indication about which manuals might have been used during the war. There is still the question, however, if the fifers who contributed to the AVF learned tunes such as Biddy Oats by ear or from the Bruce and Emmett manual. It is interesting that many of the B&E tunes found in AVF were donated by fifers who served in NY regiments. Many of these tunes I have been unable to locate anywhere else besides AVF and B&E. On the other hand, the AVF tunes that are also in Howe's are more common tunes whose origins can be traced more easily.

Looking at the camp duty found in the American Veteran Fifer, it is almost identical to that found in Howe's 1861 manual and to Strube's manual of 1869(with the exception of Strube's 3 camps). Of note is that Strube actually served as a drummer in a New York regiment during the war. The Bruce-Emmett camp duty is similar to the other versions, except that it is fancier. For example, a fifer has to be really good to play the version of the Hessian found in Bruce-Emmett, whereas a fifer with little experience could play the Howe-AVF-Stube version. Bruce and Emmett may have been showing off how good they were. Just look at what they did to a simple tune like the Girl I Left Behind Me. Most of the stuff found in B&E would be way too hard for the common fifer playing on a poor-playing fife(which is what Civil War era fifes were) who probably couldn't read music anyway(or even have access to it).

Will Chappell, drummer
33rd Ala Inf.
Liberty Hall
Fort McHenry Guard

[JKfifer119]

Re: Bruce and Emmett

"Most of the stuff found in B&E would be way too hard for the common fifer playing on a poor-playing fife(which is what Civil War era fifes were) who probably couldn't read music anyway(or even have access to it). "

I agree with everything you say William with the exception of the above statement.
Skill levels and talent will always vary from person to person, 140 years ago as now.
Practice regimens effect an individuals abilities too...if we are to presume that field musicians practiced and played everyday, well give that a try and you'll be shocked at how good you get. Poor playing fifes? sir not all fifes used during the civil war were made from widdling grampa's wooden leg into a tooter...Alot of those instruments were crafted quite nicely and function as well if not better than some made today.

I think the argument that could be made against the more complex arrangements that appear in B&E woul dbe the army's timeless following of the KISS system, Keep it Stupid Simple. Simpler arrangements allow for a maximization of all your skill levels.
If you running a music you gonna consider simpler arrangements not because your men aren't capable of playing something harder but because more will learn the simpler music, quicker.

respectfully
and with well wishes for a happy new year to all
Joe Korber

[33rdaladrummer]

Re: Bruce and Emmett

Although I have not seen many journals from the period describing the quality of field music, the few I have seen described it, at least during the early part of the war, as being pretty bad. I am recalling from memory here, but there is an account of a dress parade where the drum corps commenced playing a quickstep, the only problem being that half of the musicians were playing in 6-8 time and the other half in 2-4. The bass drummer said that this was no problem at all, he simply played 2-4 in one hand and 6-8 in the other! I have a copy of Too Young to Die which is not with me at the moment. In that book, a drummer or fifer tells that in the beginning of the war his drum corps could only play together "Yankee Doodle" and "The Girl I Left Behind Me" while the drummers beat their drums in the old-fashioned "slam-bang" style (I suppose this would be the 1812-style flam-tap-tap-tap flam-tap-tap). He did say that a few of the fifers could play quite well. He also mentions that, like Joe said, constant practice made all the difference in the world. But in my previous post I was referring to a common fifer, being a new recruit in 1861. I started drumming/reenacting in 1989, but never have been much of a fifer as my brother filled that role. I am basing the statement about the quality of CW-era fifes on what my brother said about my Peeler Firth-Pond reproduction and the opinions of Ed Boyle, who owns a ton of original fifes. Original Cloos fifes may play well, but they were made after the war. Joe, do you own any original CW-era fifes that play better than the Peeler repro? Maybe we should start a new thread about the quality of field music as represented in journals.


Will Chappell

[JKfifer119]

Re: Bruce and Emmett

I have two original fifes from the period that play nicely despite being 140 plus years old, better than my repro's? I'll have to compare.
I can only imagined how well they played when they were new. Aah yes how well did all these original fifes that are now in collections, play when they were new?(guess we'll never know). I am sure there were lousy ones as well as good ones, just like today.

Ah yes, lousy field music, people seldom remember the good things, only the bad. ;-)
Miller's book, Drum Taps in Dixie, if I recall correctly, casts the music in a favorable light, but you know how people are, folks just love readin bad reviews.
Exploring first hand accounts of field music would a be worthy and long over due endeavor absolutly. I once got into a debate with a fellow who insisted that modern era drummers had to be better than drummers playing in the 1860. I thought that there was just too much to consider to make a generalization like that...
basis of his argument was the relative ease of drum beatings published at the time.
Of course these beatings were published allegedly for military use and as such, may have had to have been simple and easy to remember by both player and listener. After all it was government work


joe korber

[joewhitney]

Re: Bruce and Emmett

"It would be better to state facts such as how many were published, dates, and other types of factual information."

Nobody will ever know that, because such figures weren't kept back then. In their absence, one must go by surviving examples. Thanks to the universal nature of the internet, Ebay provides the best method for determining this, since every dealer and individual in the entire world with an item to sell has access to it, as opposed to searching every rare book site or brick and mortar store, antique shop and flea market to get an idea on surviving examples.

Ebay therefore is infinitely better at determining the commonality of items than, say, Lord's Encyclopedias of Civil War relics, which relied primarily on a few private collections. We know for example that Firth, Pond & Co. produced items under that name up to 1865, and many examples of their woodwinds pop up on ebay on a regular basis. Therefore, we can determine that Firth, Pond & Co. produced far more instruments than any other manufacturer of the period. Horstmann is a close second, but they produced long after the war as well, making the determination of wartime production difficult.

"Perhaps I have only seen one pair of truly authentic cocoa sticks show up on ebay."

The problem with that is the terms cocoa, cocoa-bola and rosewood were interchangeable back then, and being generic terms can't be compared to similar terms today. Even the boxwood and mahogany of today are from different sources and have different appearances than those woods back then. Such are the problems with wood identification, both historic and modern.

"...if we are to presume that field musicians practiced and played everyday, well give that a try and you'll be shocked at how good you get."

Depends on your level of talent. Field musicians who only have a modicum of natural talent will only progress so far, and will never be able to play many of the tunes and beats in B&E, even if they've been playing for forty years. I know several examples of this I could site, but I still run into those musicians from time to time, and don't want to offend them. The one factor that continues to amaze me is that almost every documented Civil War fife I've seen has either a metal cheater on it, virtually making it a whistle, or the marking where a cheater used to be. But then again, what quicker and easier way to incorporate student musicians into the army, talented or otherwise?

The primary difference between Civil War fifes and most repros is the diameter of the blow hole and finger holes. Holes on repros are usually wider, providing a louder, more piercing and full tone, but you also have to take a breath more frequently.

"I once got into a debate with a fellow who insisted that modern era drummers had to be better than drummers playing in the 1860. I thought that there was just too much to consider to make a generalization like that..."

The primary consideration is the increased tension on modern drums, which naturally allow the drummer to play faster, more complicated rudiments.

Joe Whitney
2nd SC String Band
MD Line Field Music

[markj]

Re: Bruce and Emmett

Looking at the camp duty found in the American Veteran Fifer, it is almost identical to that found in Howe's 1861 manual and to Strube's manual of 1869(with the exception of Strube's 3 camps). Of note is that Strube actually served as a drummer in a New York regiment during the war.

Some more tidbits of potential interest:

I've done a check through the American Literary Gazette and Publisher's Circular to see precisely when Strube was published. To date, the first mention I've found is in the 1 July 1869 issue. This certainly suggests that Strube did not hit the market prior to Spring 1869 at the earliest. The 1 May 1863 ALG&PC also saw fit to carry notices for Winner's Perfect Guide as well as the Army Drum and Fife Book. I have an image of the page carrying these ads and can furnish it on request (for some reason I can't post attachments right now to this post).

Shown below are a nice pair of quotes I uncovered while searching through the online Sabin Collection of Americana. I have not yet had the time to determine their precise context, but they undoubtedly date to sometime in 1862:

[Extracts from an extensive discussion about the difficulty of obtaining competent bands and musicians for Confederate regiments]

***“That is true, old friend, and in those regiments which have succeeded in getting up bands, the performance is so wretched for a few months that their dismal noises are an intolerable nuisance. Yet it cannot be avoided; we lack cultivated talent, and many ‘who volunteer to do the blowing,’ as the boys say, have seldom seen, and certainly never before touched, a bugle or cornet. There are the customary drums and fifes, and the ‘regulation’ tunes for ‘reveille’—‘Roast Beef,’ ‘Tattoo,’ and every necessary call; but in walking through camps at any of those times, we hear all kinds of drumming; and as for rival fifers!—they seem to be in an intense screeching agony, whenever called upon, and know no tune except ‘Dixie,’ or the doleful and eternal ‘My Maryland.’ (p. 101)

***The want in uniformity of our ‘calls’ is notorious; what one regiment beats for ‘tattoo’ its next neighbour will furiously drum for ‘reveille.’ All the men know is that drums are beating for ‘something,’ and they turn out with alacrity to ascertain what that something is. But this is not in form, and though commanders look upon the matter lightly, it may be the occasion of much mischief. Take a case in point:--At the battle of ‘Oak Hill,’ in Missouri, the camps and commands of Price and M’Culloch were some distance apart, and the Missourians, it is said, were so much accustomed to beating drums at all times, that when they were suddenly attacked by Lyon, M’Culloch took no notice of the call, until Siegel opened fire upon his pickets, when he ascertained that for once the Missouri drummers meant something by their thumpings. (p. 103)

Source: “An English Combatant (Lieutenant of Artillery on the Field Staff).” Battle-fields of the South, from Bull Run to Fredericksburg : with sketches of Confederate commanders, and gossip of the camps. Volume 2. London, 1863. 408pp. 2 vols.

Regards,

Mark Jaeger
markj@purdue.edu

[33rdaladrummer]

Re: Bruce and Emmett

There are the customary drums and fifes, and the ‘regulation’ tunes for ‘reveille’—‘Roast Beef,’ ‘Tattoo,’ and every necessary call; but in walking through camps at any of those times, we hear all kinds of drumming; and as for rival fifers!—they seem to be in an intense screeching agony, whenever called upon, and know no tune except ‘Dixie,’ or the doleful and eternal ‘My Maryland.’ (p. 101)
markj@purdue.edu

There were probably many poor musicians and some good ones too. Most of the accounts of bad music I have read were early-war. Some units were probably happy (or unhappy) to just have musicians at all. Others, like the 71st NY, went to the opposite end of the spectrum by hiring men like H.C. Hart (one of the greatest drummers of his time) to organize and instruct their musicians.


"Early in 1862, Quartermaster George W. Rosevelt of the 71st Regiment of the New York State Militia, employed Colonel H. C. Hart to organize the Regimental Drum Corps. Mr. Hart came to Connecticut looking for drummers and fifers, but he met with little success until one evening after his arrival in Southington. He was sitting on the veranda of a hotel, when he heard the drums in the distance. On inquiry he learned that it was the Wolcott Drum Band practicing more than six miles away. He immediately hired a horse team and hastened to Wolcott to listen more closely.

Colonel Hart engaged Henry Chatfield as Leader and instructor, and a number of other fifers and drummers from the Wolcott Drum Band. They found other men from around the state, and they obtained the rest of their members in New York City. As the Regiment marched down Broadway leaving for the war, the Corps attracted much attention by their fine playing. During the war they were attached to the Army of the Potomac. It was later said that they became one of the Best Drum Corps in the entire Army.

Colonel Hart, published a music book in 1862 using a notation that was identical to that taught by Samuel Wilcox to the Wolcott Drum Band. The Band has used Hart’s book for instruction ever since.

After the war Mr. Chatfield related the following: "When General Grant took command of the Army he reviewed all the troops. As he and his staff passed the 71st Regiment the Corps played "Hail to the Chief." He paused in front of the players, and when they had finished he remarked, "Well boys, I never heard such a Hell of a racket from so few drums in my life."

http://mattatuck.org/history.htm

In Drum Taps in Dixie, Delevan Miller states that if a drummer couldn't play his "single and double drags with variations" (required rudiments for the reveille and breakfast and dinner calls) he wouldn't "pass muster".



Will Chappell