Page 22 - Nov 2020 JOA

By Judy Gonyeau with Jay Jones,
By Judy Gonyeau with Jay Jones,
sixth-generation owner of Noble & Cooley
sixth-generation owner of Noble & Cooley

Noble & Cooley Noble & Cooley

Marching to the Sound of Their DrumsMarching to the Sound of Their Drums

Moving to the Sound of the Drums the music used by armed forces carried not only coded instructions, but
The spirit-stirring drum, the ear-piercing fife, the rhythms and melody gave soldiers added meaning and motivation
The royal banner, and all quality, to what the units were doing. In WWII, the Allies used the opening
Pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war! notes of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 because it had so many meanings
-William Shakespeare, Othello – those three G’s, then an E flat corresponded to three dots and a dash
in Morse code signifying “V” for Victory and was widely used to inspire

rom the time of the Greek and Roman Empires, music and per- patriotism through its use in films and various propaganda.
cussion have been used for all things military. From giving orders Even today, these forms of signaling remain as a back-up for
Ffor the march to battle and to direct soldiers in the field, to hail- when the power goes out but is primarily used for the pomp and
ing the heroes and the fallen after victory or defeat, military music and circumstance that encourages everyone to support the troops and
the preciseness of percussion have bolstered the confidence and driven honor their country.
the forces forward as wars broke out around the world.
Music brought order The Drummer Boy
to the art of war, and in Among the other arts that celebrated the soldiers was fine art.
the late 17th century, Paintings depicting heroes, battles, and equipment on the field brought
soldiers moved smoothly stunning renderings of war back to the homefront. Among these pieces
and precisely as a struc- were paintings of drummers helping to lead and direct the soldiers to
tured unit to commit victory. Younger boys wanted to partake in the glory of the wars and
the acts of war signaled with the age restrictions regarding who could join up, these young boys
by various combinations joined in by supplying the drumming signals to the armies, earning the
of drum, fife, and bugle title “Drummer Boy.”
melodies. And with But the drummer and other musicians carried out other roles during
increasing firepower warfare. During battle, they often had to help out at the medical tents,
and cannon blasting assist physicians with amputations on the
their way onto the Johnny battlefield, and clean up after the surger-
fields, the music was a Shiloh ies by disposing of bloody bandages and
The Ancient Greed Drum, the Daouli (shown with much better method to severed limbs.
Karamoudza) from Zevgolateio, Korinthias. convey directions versus Because they did not carry weapons,
The Daouli is the two headed drum and vary in size the shouting from a
from the small 12 to 14 inch diameter toumbi, to the Commander. drummers were placed at the rear of the
3 to 4 foot diameter daouli in the north of Greece. fight, but stray bullets and cannon fire
In Europe, the stan- would make their way back there and
dardization of certain tunes for certain movements sometimes worked drummers could be killed or wounded.
to the enemy’s detriment, as when, according to HistoryNet.com, Some would become famous. According
“During the Battle of Oudenarde in 1708, a key fight in the War of the to thoughtco.com, “One of the most
Spanish Succession, Allied (Anglo-Dutch-Austrian) drummers played famous drummers was Johnny Clem,
The French Retreat so convincingly that part of the French army did, who ran away from home at the age of
in fact, withdraw from the field.” nine to join the army. Clem became
Right up through the World Wars, the Korean and Vietnam wars, known as “Johnny Shiloh,” though it’s

20 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles