Military Music of the American Revolution
by Raoul F. Camus
Westerville, OH: Integrity Press, 1995
218 pages    MMAR-bk   $17.00

This book is basic to understanding military music of the colonial era in America. It first was issued in 1976 by the University of North Carolina Press.

Musicologists have paid little attention to the traditions and the heritage of military music in America. The familiar portrait of the “Spirit of ’76” reinforces the common belief that the Revolutionary army had no music other than the simple fife and drum. It is the aim of this work to show that the roots of the band movement lie in the early colonial history of this nation and that a steady progression of its growth can be traced, as can the expansion of all other artistic endeavors in the colonies.
        The early American militia units were patterned after British models and used British drill manuals and techniques. Fifers and drummers were included in every company of infantry and trumpeters in every troop of cavalry. The field music sounded the duty calls or signals for all daily activities and provided the cadence for the march. Bands of music in European armies during the period of the American Revolution generally consisted of the Harmoniemusik combination of oboes, clarinets, bassoons, and horns, and provided music for military ceremonies and for the social and recreational activities of the officers’ after-duty hours.
 The Continental army, from its inception, included fifers and drummers in each company and adapted the British drum beats and signals then in use. The 3rd and 4th Regiments of Artillery had bands as early as 1777. Both bands achieved reputations of excellence surpassing any other musical group, civilian or military, and may alone serve as sufficient basis for the establishment of an American military musical tradition.
        The present availability of uniformed bands of musicians for hire for patriotic, educational, or civic functions, and the existence of college and school bands in uniform, are strong reminders of the militia’s tradition. At a time when few symphony orchestras existed in America, military ands served the musical needs of the colonies and the new nation. The scope and intensity of research that the author brings to this much-neglected subject mark this study’s value to musical scholarship in America’s bicentennial year and will make it the standard work for many years to come.