"Who makes buglers in 15mm" Topic

Lately there have been some threads about the sense of having drummers in the flag command stand for ACW. Drummers, if anywhere, were behind the line next to the regimental commander, and were more likely not to be there at all. Bugles appear to be the preferred method of giving most orders by sound. This makes more than a bit of sense, I wonder if drumbeats could even be heard amongst gunshot- which sound a bit the same.

Anyway, I'm thinking of rebasing and prying off all the drummers and using them as some type of unit status marker. (suggestions anyone).

Does any manufacturer offer buglers as individual figures or a bags of buglers?

Blue Moon makes separate bags of ACW Buglers for each side. Check them out at the Old Glory site.

oldglory25s.com/index.php

You could always leave the drummers, and just add the buglers!!

Peter Pig can make you up packs of buglers. PP are compatible with other 15mm figures but not super sized ones.
I would suggest that you have a browse through the PP website and see what ones are useful.

good luck with your project

martin

Thanks. The Blue Moon look nice and I will get some to go with the larger figures. Most of my armies are older 15mm size from many places including UFO manufacturers from gross lot sales on EvilBay, so the PeterPig source is also very useful.

bugle calls
rjsamp.com/calls.html

Another thread on TMP
TMP link

training a bugler
PDF link
[Q]"DUTIES AND CHAIN OF COMMAND
Company Bugler
Reports to the Lieutenant or Captain. Sounds calls on company level. Will listen for calls from brigade or regimental level and interprets the call for the company commander. Must know the Skirmish Calls. Is responsible for orderly, guard and fatigue duty.Messes with company. Rank of private or corporal.

Regimental Bugler
Reports to the Colonel or adjutant of the Regiment. Sounds calls on the Regimental level and relays those calls to company level.Must know the Skirmish Calls. Must know how to form the Regiment by the bugle. Is responsible for company buglers. Messes with company. Rank of corporal or sergeant

Brigade Bugler
Reports to the general, colonel or adjutant of the Regiment. Accompanies the commander on the field, sounds calls on the brigade level and relays those calls to regimental level. Administrative position. Must know the Skirmish Calls, know how to form the brigade by the bugle. Is responsible for the training and deportment of all buglers in the brigade. When no drum major available must lead the massed musicians in dress parades or lead bugle corps. Messes with regimental staff. Rank of Chief Bugler or Principal Musician

Corps Bugler
Reports to the general or adjutant of the Corps. Mostly administrative position responsible for all buglers in the Corps. Messes with regimental staff. Rank of Chief Bugler or Principal Musician A Bugler will always be at headquarters of each regimental commander. The Adjutant will detail buglers to attend at headquarters from whence all calls will be sound" [/Q]

Okay, the idea that I am getting is that a bugler should be tied to every field officer from the company level up. (for large regiments). For my "Rally 'round the Flag" derived rules I have 1"x3/4" stands of 4 figures and 3-7 such stands per regiment. There is one "command stand" which has 1-2 flags and/or 1-2 drummers and/or a musket-armed soldier. This is wrong. The flag stand actually should be a color guard (national and maybe state flags), no musicians and a sargent and then maybe a musket-armed soldier. There would be no bugler there. These guys would listen for the bugle call to figure out what they were supposed to do, but they were not giving orders except to the extent that by following the bugle calls, they were giving visual indications to the unit. Actually, I wonder if it would be a terrible idea for there to be a drummer next to the flags because it would PREVENT the color guard from hearing the officer's orders- either verbal orders or issued by his adjacent bugler/drummer!!! Also, the sound would be blown out AHEAD of the unit and not be heard by the unit as well as if they were behind the unit. The bugler should be behind the unit, stuck onto the hip of the regiment commander. Alas, not much role for the hundreds of drummer figures although some might also be behind the line, next to the officers.

Wow! very interesting and good to know for my future dabble in to ACW from napoleonics.
It sounds like drummer's primary role for this era then was to just institute the beat for the march cadence?!

thanks for a good post!
MG

The link PDF link is wonderful as it explains what a bugler was expected to do and how he was supposed to behave. I have to read that article more closely but one interesting thing I saw is that commands would be transmitted by the bugle and THEN the drums would take over and give the cadence and continuing, heartening reinforcement of the order. So they both had a complementary roles to play- things are starting to make sense.