"Musicians " Topic

While drummers have a tactical role during combat what about fife players ?
And, where would you expect both fife and drums to appear in a formation….front rank or middle/rear next to each other etc etc

I have spare musicians who need a home in my British units and would appreciate your thoughts..

After the augmentation of August 1775, each centre and light company had two musicians (having previously had only one) all of whom were – nominally at least – described in the muster rolls as "drummers". The grenadier company had two drummers and two fifers (previously one drummer and two fifers), but who were described specifically as such. In reality, one of the two centre company drummers might play the fife (or both fife and drum), whilst at least one of the light company drummers used a hunting horn of some sort. So 10 drummers and two fifers up to late 1775/early 1776, thereafter 20 drummers and two fifers. Of course, the flank company guys were invariably serving elsewhere, so only the drummers of the 8 centre companies would be together on campaign.

In battle, as opposed to parade, the common practice among European armies up to the SYW era – and the Continentals, certainly post-Steuben – was to split the drums and fifes in two, and have half at the extreme right and left of the battalion line (that's just the 8 centre companies) behind the supernumary/third rank of officers and NCOs. The drum major (ie senior drummer) would remain with the CO, in the centre behind the colours, to pass orders to the two groups. This was because, up to the SYW, battalions could be very large – in the British case, up to 1,000 men; with the smaller battalions of the AWI period, it would be more likely they would group together behind the colours.

However, as the AWI progressed, the British seem to have adopted a system first used by them in the F&IW, where each battalion had just one orderly drummer, usually the drum major, and the remaining drummers/fifers were sent home to recruit, or given a musket and added to the ranks. In the case of the senior regiment in a brigade, that unit sent it's drum major to the brigade commander, and another senior drummer acted as orderly drummer to the battalion CO. The orderly drummer would mainly transmit orders in camp and on the march; in battle, this was done purely by word of mouth almost from the start of the AWI (certainly from the 1776 NYC campaign onwards), and officially from 1778 following an order issued in Great Britain by Amherst.

To ask another question on the muscians, specifically the ones assigned to a grenadier or Light battalion.

Since these battalions were made up of companies from different regiments. I painted the muscians coats to match the senior grenadier company? For example the drummer and fifer coats for my grenadier battalion. I painted to represent the 4th. Since the grenadier company from the 4th would be the senior company in the grenadier battlion. Same thing for the Lights battalion.

So just wondering how everyone else does thiers??
Thanky.

I paint mine in a variety of facing colors since we know there were many grenadier drummers, based on the eyewitness account at Brandywine, as detailed in McGuire's book. They massed the grenadier drummers at the beginning of the attack.