Instruments & Gear –
The Drum –
The drums bore the royal monogram, the precedence number of the regiment to which the battalion belonged, and perhaps some device awarded to the regiment as a mark of special distinction, such as the dragon of the 3rd foot and the antelope of the 6th, both regents raised in 1572 for the service in Holland, but taken on to the English establishment in 1665 and 1685 respectively.
Badges and devices were also awarded for distinguished service in the field, the sphinx for Egypt, the dragon for China, and the tiger or elephant for India.
Murray David, MUSIC OF THE SCOTTISH REGIMENTS, The Pentland Press, Bishop Auckland Durham 1994.(P21)
The British Army issued 16" x 153/4" wooden drums for it's drummers from the 1700's to the 1830's
The Americans followed suit
The French issued 15"x11" brass drums during the Napoleonic era
Hope this helps, Yrs.,L2
Original drums measured at Smithsonian, West Point and Fort Malden
‘in the last quarter of the eighteenth century the overall size of the side-drum was reduced to a standard 18 inches by 18 inches, and the height if the hoop (lip around the head) to two inches‘.
At the time of Waterloo the size of the size was reduced again to 16 inches by 16 inches, although those carried by the guards and some other regiments at the battle were of the old size.
A regulation made in the reign of George II stipulated that the side-drum beaten by British Regimental Drummers Should remain of wood, generally of Ash. The overlapping ends of the shell were secured by nails or tacks –the nail board — arranged in elaborate patterns to hide the fact that there was a join.
The side-drum of the British Army did not change to metal until the beginning of the nineteenth century. They had had snares — a series of fine cords — across the bottom head for a long time, probably since the seventeenth century, and now made of fine gut.
Barty-King Hugh, THE DRUM, Horse Guards, Whitehall, London, 1988 (P 89)

The Drum Cover
Provided from Ordinance – at that time the source of all good things authorised by the government – were ten side drums, ten flutes, and ten bugles.
The drums came complete with ticken covers (A strong, closely woven linen or cotton fabric, of which ticks for beds are made.
It is usually twilled, and woven in stripes of different colors, as white and blue; -- called also ticken.),
http://dict.die.net/ticken/
Ticken is a twill weave linen tending to be finer than Russia drill. Ticken was usually striped but was white as well. Used for the same purposes as Russia drill but there are more references for ticken in England. Ticken was commonly used to make breeches, waistcoats, pillows, and bed ticks. Less commonly ticken was used to make trousers, jackets, coats, and women's pockets. The sailor's contract of 1706 called for ticken waistcoats and breeches. Hand sewing this project would work well using 35/2 white or off white linen thread. In The Virginia Gazette of 1737, "ran away from the Subscriber, Two Convict Servant Men. One is an Irish Man . . . professes himself a Gardener by Trade; and took with him . . . one pair of Ticken Breeches".
http://www.wmboothdraper.com/Hemps/hemps_index.htm
Washington's Tent Cover c 1776 - The tent cover at one time held the Revolutionary War marquees used by George Washington. The original order was delivered to Plunkeet Fleeson on May 18, 1776 and called for “making a large Dining Marquee with Double Front,” and for “making another large Marquee with a Cham = (sic) out of ticken, Arch'd”.
http://www.nps.gov/history/museum/exhibits/arho/exb/Military/ARHO1980_Washington's-Tent-.html
The flutes with cases, and the bugles with strings, or cords, so that they could be slung over the shoulder. The strings for royal regiments were interwoven red, yellow, and blue.
And for all others green, hence ‘Cords, Royal’, and ‘Cords, grassy green’.
Ten leg aprons were issued to protect the drummers trousers from undue friction while playing.
Murray David, MUSIC OF THE SCOTTISH REGIMENTS, The Pentland Press, Bishop Auckland Durham 1994.(P1320)
‘...and the Ticken Bag fastened to the drums side.’
Barty-King, THE DRUM, Horse Guards, Whitehall London, 1988. (P 95)
The trial costing of a drummers uniform made in 1764 by Andrew Regnier & son, regimental tailors,…..the trial costing was not accepted and broken down costing given by Thomas Simes in The Military Medley of 1768 shows they got the price down to under £4. *the list includes Drum and Case—£1 6s 6d.
Barty-King, THE DRUM, Horse Guards, Whitehall London, 1988. (P 56)

The Drum Carriage
* The author draws no conclusion here but simply states that there does not seem to be specific reasoning for the wearing of the
carriage in any way apart from perhaps personal choice, as it has been read that it is easier to carry and play the drum in this way. - (Author)
‘We are accustomed to see the side drum carried hooked to a belt, the drum carriage, slung over the drummers right shoulder. This method of carrying the drum was only arrived at after decades of argument.
For centuries, it had been the practice for the drum carriage to be slung around the neck, like a necklace, making in the opinion of many, the drum easier to play. With the drum carriage in that position, it was possible for the shoulder belt supporting the broadsword (Highland regiments had broadswords) to be worn over the right shoulder, with the hilt pushed well to the rear, so that the broadsword lay across the drummers back, where it did not interfere with the free movement of his arms as he played.’
Murray David, MUSIC OF THE SCOTTISH REGIMENTS, The Pentland Press, Bishop Auckland Durham 1994.(P135)
*Its interesting that when the author researched the use of the carriage as in the neck lace style he found that a great many
regiments did so, in fact there are both unquestionable referenced images as well as not so creditable images but none the less
showing the carriage worn in this way.
When looking at just one publication — Barty-King Hugh, THE DRUM, Horse Guards, Whitehall, London, 1988,
We see on pages 48 shows the 46th regiment in 1837, a drummer of the guards in 1780 on page 52, the
first foot, 57th foot, and the 4th foot on Page 70, also the author has images showing the, 2nd, 5th, 9th, 17th, 19th, 23rd, 28th,
29th, 35th, 41st, 42nd, 43rd, 51st, 66th, 71st, 87th, 92nd, 104th, the Royal Artificers-1800, The Royal Fuzileers-1790-1830, 1st,
2nd, and 3rd foot guards.

The Sword
''While the Sergeant's sword was a mark of rank, the Drummer's sword was his only defence. Since many of the Drummers and Fifers were younger and smaller in stature, it was necessary for the blades of these swords either be short or curved like light cavalry sabres so they did not drag on the ground.
Pictorial evidence from the late 18th century shows a variety of regimental patterns being used. In 1796 a standard pattern was selected for the Army's Drummers that had a 24 inch straight blade. Aside from the shorter blade it was identical to the Sergeant's pattern. Again it is likely this sword was carried by "the Drums" of some regiments prior to this date.''
For their personel protection in battle, the drummers of the four senior Scottish regiments, dressed as infantry of the line, were issued with the standard drummers pattern sword, which, in the years between 1815 and 1857 was largely an ornamental weapon.’
‘Drummers of highland regiments were provided with what was officially called a claymore, but which was a highland broadsword with its basket hilt, giving complete protection to the hand, but making it difficult to use the broadsword as other than a cutting weapon. Highland bandsmen got the broadsword, as did the pipers.
All carried it in a shoulder belt, black for pipers and white for everybody else.
As a weapon, it was far in advance of the infantry drummers sword, but in the years after the Crimean war this excellent weapon was to disappear.’
Murray David, MUSIC OF THE SCOTTISH REGIMENTS, The Pentland Press, Bishop Auckland Durham 1994.(P135)
*there has also been seen by the Author a reference to a drummers sword being broken at the tip to signify that he was a non combatant.

The Cap, Hat.
*There is a fair amount of pictorial references for the wearing of the bearskin on the field of battle, having said this again there is very little actual proof this was so. Common practice is for drummers to adopt the Shako for the field and the Bearskin for parade.
*It must also be remembered that nearly all regimental drummers of the line had, were issued and wore the Bearskin.-(Author)
The Mitre cap of the early and mid-eighteenth century was replaced in 1768 by one of black fur – white in the case of some drummers – with a brass frontlet.
In 1800, the shako was introduced, ousting the traditional hats of the centre companies and the light leather helmet of the light, the company that stood on the left of the line on parade and acted as the battalions skirmishers, the grenadier companies wore their fur caps on great occasions, but the shako on service in the field. It could be that the drummers gave up their bearskin caps in the years after waterloo, although there are prints showing drummers wearing both.
Murray David, MUSIC OF THE SCOTTISH REGIMENTS, The Pentland Press, Bishop Auckland Durham 1994.(P135)
References for Infantry Drummers Headwear.
Bearskins worn during the Peninsular and Napoleonic wars.
The Royal Clothing Warrant, 1768
‘’Drummers' and Fifers' Caps.
The drummers and fifers to have black bear-skin caps. On the front, the King's crest, of silver plated metal, on a black ground, with trophies of colours and drums. The number of the regiment on the back part; as also the badge, if entitled to any, as ordered for the grenadiers.
Grenadiers' Caps.
The caps of the grenadiers to be of black bear-skin. On the front, the King's crest, of silver plated metal, on a black ground, with the motto, "Nec aspera terrent." A grenade
on the back part, with the number of the regiment,on it.’’
The following is an article from the Journal for the Society of Army Historical Research outlining the changes in the 1802 Clothing Regulations. It was contributed by W.Y Carman.
(D.—[“No alteration,” C.] The Caps of the Grenadiers to be of Black Bear Skin.
On the Front, the King’s Crest67 in brass on a Black Ground with the Motto “Nec aspera
terrent.” A Grenade on the Back part, with the number of the Regiment on it. The Royal Regiments and the six old Corps are to have the Crest and Grenade, and also the other particulars specified hereafter. The Badges of the Regts. are to be White and set near the Top of the Back part of the Cap. The Height of the Cap (without the Bear Skin which reaches beyond the Top) to be Twelve Inches.) Z.
Para 58.) A. Drummers and Fifers Caps. Z. B. [Same as D before alteration.] (D.—[“No alteration,” C.] The Drummers and Fifers to have Black Bear Skin Caps, on the Front the King’s Crest of68 brass on a Black Ground, with Trophies of
Colours and Drums. The number of the Regiment on the back part as also the Badge if entitled to any as ordered for the Grenadiers.)69 British Infantry Uniforms since 1660
Barthorp Michael, Blandford press, Dorset England, 1982.(p60 Ref plate 12, Battalion Drummer, 66th (Berkshire) Regiment, 1811). ‘’Drummers still wore reversed coats and Bearskin caps, similar to grenadiers caps, though, on service, shakos with the universal cap plate were more usual.’’ ‘’Bandsmen wore coats of facing colour… until1812, but the lacing had been standardized and more nearly resembled that on a privates coat, the numerous chevrons on the sleeves being worn or not, as the commanding officer decided. They wore wing epaulettes, and their full dress head gear was the grenadier cap.
A short sword, with a blade about 24 inches long,was their special weapon. The fife case was carried on the right hip, attached to the cross belt.’’ Major Barnes , R.M. A History of the Regiments & Uniforms of the British Army (p 122) Seeley Service & Co Limited, London 1957.
Simkin’s Richard, Uniforms of the British Army, The Infantry Regiments. W.Y.Carman, Webb and Bower Limited, Devon England, 1985. (p 184)
‘’A new cap or the shako was now being worn and in 1802 the clothing regulations from 1768 onwards
were revised and brought up to date.’’ – ‘’For full dress the caps of drummers and fifers were black bearskin
with a black front plate bearing the king’s crest and trophies of colours and drums, plus the number of the regiment and any badge, if so entitled, on the back.’’
Bartorp Michael, British Infantry Uniforms Since 1660, (p 52) Blandford Press Dorset. 1982.
Newspaper reports
THE CONNAUGHT JOURNAL, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1840
The cumbersome bear-skin cap, ordered by George the Fourth, for the use of the Fusiller and Grenadier companies of the line is, we understand, to be discontinued, and replaced by a smart chaco, not only in consideration of the extreme high price and scarcity of bear skins, from their having been as generally used by the French and English armies of late, but the comfort and great convenience which will be found in a regiment not being encumbered with them on foreign service, which would be the case, the cap being intended to last six years, and the regiments, by the new arrangements, change their station every three.
http://www.irelandoldnews.com/Galway/1840/SEP.html

BALLINA CHRONICLE, Wednesday, April 3, 1850
Lord Gough offers to hear the extra expense of continuing the bearskin cap to his gallant regiment the 67th.
http://www.irelandoldnews.com/Mayo/1850/APR.html

Thank you for your e-mail which I read when I returned to the office.

The bearskins used by Guards Regiments in the British Army are from the American black bears (Ursus americanus). They are from Canada where black bear is abundant. Canada effectively manages black bears under the sustainable resource management approach advocated by all international conservation agencies and conventions, including the IUCN (World Conservation Union). Canada fully supports conservation controls on international trade, such as those required under CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora).
It is legal to import and use bearskins from the American black bear.
In general terms fur can be freely imported and used in the UK, unless it is from an endangered species. As I have shown above, the American black bear is not an endangered species.
If you need any further information please do not hesitate to contact me.

Regards Robert Morgan
British Fur Trade Association
Brookstone House
6 Elthorne Road
London N19 4AG

Drum Care
Certainly, excluding people and cannon, the most valuable pieces of a fife & drum corps are its collection of drums. Many corps' collections are years in building and include excellent examples of rare drums that are irreplaceable. Some corps feature truly ancient instruments, hundreds of years old, made to exacting standards by master craftsmen. If your collection of instruments is as varied and interesting as ours, you'll treat each drum as a treasure to be played often and with respect. Our most intensive efforts should be spent ensuring the safety and well-being of these works of art.

Heads
The first item on drum maintenance is usually the most visible. From the drummer's perspective, drum heads represent the most viewed part of the drum, and they, by default, are maintained most frequently. When you damage a drum head either by misuse or structural defect resulting in the failure of the surface, its replacement is critical in the performance of the drum (no-duh, Ken). Choosing when and with what to replace a head can be an emotional debate. Natural or Not. Each material has its advantages and disadvantages. In addition, each manufacturer has a wide selection of items from which to choose replacements. In general, buy natural and tuck them yourselves or get them pre-formed, but if you are pressed for time and money, feel free to use any head that fits!
Naturl heads have one distinct advantage, they're natural ;-). This results in a richness of sound and authentic look that accents the performance of the drum. Maintenance on natural heads is no more than occasional inspection and care during use to avoid soaking in wet weather. Of course, we all get wet once in a while. Another drawback to natural heads is the price. Checkout some online drum sellers prices, for example: Heritage Drum Co offers skin heads for over a hundred dollars on a new drum. These are for first class heads, professionally tucked by an expert. At $50 each, caution must be used when marching with these heads. Of course, if you are careful, they will last for years.
If your natural head gets soaked, the best course of action is to loosen the ears of the drum and place the drum in a dry and well ventilated area for gradual drying, of course you can not play the drum while it's wet as soaked skin tears like paper. Dry too fast, you may tear the skin by flaking it, dry too slow and mold and mildew take hold and weaken the skin. Too fast is usually a matter of minutes, and too slow is several days. Any length of time from a few hours to a day is usually safe. Occasional inspection of natural heads is required to verify that no hairs or rips threaten to cause fractures. As a natural head reaches the end of its functional life, you should prepare a replacement by either tucking a new one in a new flesh hoop or purchasing a new one pre- manufactured. Be sure to examine the old flesh hoop and determine if the hoop is sufficiently straight for possible recycling.
Plastic heads have the distinct advantage of being water proof. The texture and tone of your drum doesn't change in a thunderstorm. Plastic heads are almost always less expensive than leather, and are more readily obtained as well. I can acquire several types of plastic heads from any local music store in price ranges from $5 to $25 based on size and model. Fiberskin and Legacy heads look and sound great, but are difficult to find. Any Remo batter head should work just fine. The largest problem with plastic heads is the sound. I have a hard time tuning the ring out of a plastic head, but you may know someone that doesn't have this problem, and considers plastic heads as good as natural. The key here is requirement to play in the rain.
Snare side heads have the luxury of being out of the public eye, and often you'll see a substandard head on the bottom of an otherwise perfect drum. Unless you set your drum on a fire hydrant, the bottom head is almost always installed and forgotten about. You can mix and match heads top and bottom, leather and plastic but be prepared for unbalanced stretching and frequent fine tuning as one head stretches and the other doesn't. Generally, the bottom head is a thin clear plastic head or as fine a leather head as you can find.

Ropes
In the pictures above, you'll notice that one picture features a pig tail knot with nice bright white rope, and the other an ear threaded through with a yucky yellow rope which looks almost finished. Believe it or not, those are pictures of the same drum, in different lighting, and the drum on the left has the same clean rope as the one on the right. In the event that your once bright rope has dulled and otherwise changed color, you should realize that the rope has also weakened, and should be replaced. Of course, if your rope started out a natural hemp color, closer inspection will be required to determine it's strength.
When purchasing new rope, you can buy pre-tied lengths which feature a loop at one end an a functional tape wrap at the other, purchase a whole spool of rope from Florance-Drums, Cooperman or Old Glory, or you can head down to your local hardware store and purchase lengths of cotton rope (which will stretch for the next ten years, so avoid this practice). If you buy spooled rope, you'll need to figure out a method of anchoring one end to the other when the lacing is completed. A simple and effective method of creating a loop is to unwrap the last inch of rope, and then braid it back into the rope two inches from the end. Some sort of binding agent (i.e. super glue) should be used to ensure a tight bind with the newly formed loop.
If you are replacing your rope, the easiest way to remove the old rope is to use a pair of scissors (carefully, now) and just cut it off. Of course, this leaves several dozen three foot lengths of rope to dispose of... If you take the time to unwrap the drum you'll save the rope from further damage and possibly allow the recycling of the rope on a different drum or a clothes line.

Ears
Ears are a conspicuous addition to your drum. You use them every time you use your drum (hopefully) and their care is almost as important as any other component. Ears generally consist of a piece of folded leather pierced with two holes and laced with leather strapping. The leather strap is tied under the ear and effectively holds the shape of the ear. Our ears are almost all rectangular leather about 1/4 thick cut so the ends are rounded over. The holes are punched using either a drill and 1/8 bit or a leather punch. The leather strapping is just leather shoe lace purchased at the local grocery store. If you find an ear needing new

leather (as the ears themselves are almost indestructible) simply turn the ear so it stands perpendicular to the barrel and cut the old
leather free. Take the new strap and feed both ends at the same time through the ear from the face to the back. The face is the half of the strap that faces the world and the back faces the barrel. Take the length of strap and pull it tight, taking each end and wrapping them around the outside and feeding them back through the original two holes. Simply tie together the two resulting ends and cut to length.
Our ears feature a decorative star pattern punched in the face. This is amazingly easy to accomplish. Purchase a star leather tool at your favorite leather supply company and simply hammer the shape into the leather with a single good whack.

Counter Hoops
An often overlooked problem with snare and bass drums is the hoops. These pieces of wood are the focus of the stress applied by the ropes, and are the instrument by which that stress is passed onto the drum heads. Hoops often fail, but are seldom replaced. That means there are a large number of improperly functioning hoops on the streets. One thing a hoop is _not_ supposed to do is touch the snares on the bottom head of a snare drum. If the snare channel is cut too shallow, and the bottom head is stretched too much, your bottom hoop will choke off your snares and make tuning your drum impossible. In the below picture, you’ll see a very clear gap where the snare tensioned meets the bottom hoop (by the cat's head). This gap should appear on the snare anchor side of the drum as well.
Another thing a hoop is not supposed to do is break moments before a parade, or worse, in the middle of one! Close inspection of the hoops will probably reveal fractures around any stress points like the rope holes or snare channels. In the above picture, you can clearly see that the snare channel is also the joint for the hoop, a double possibility for a point of failure. One more problem is a poorly aligned hoop or one that is warped beyond function. If your hoop fails, the pressure it is supposed to absorb and spread is transferred directly to your heads in small areas, resulting in increased head problems, like splits along the circumpherence. Fortunately counter hoops are inexpensive and readily replaced.
Ken at kenb@fifedrum.org

Description of how to change a drum head on a rope tension drum:
(Unknown contributor)

This process is quite intuitive and obvious but there are a few bits of information that the drum-tensioning-newbie might find useful.
Make note of the relationship between the vent hole or other land mark on the shell and the sling attachment or other land mark on the counter hoops so that when you put the drum back together, it is properly aligned.
Untie the drag rope and then loosen the knot that secures the rope (unwrap the pig-tail or just unhitch whatever is there)
Pull through several feet of rope onto the first loop between the counter hoops
Pull those several feel through to the next series of loops gradually reducing the length of your pull until you have pulled the initial several feet spread out through the entire drum circumference
Back at the end of the rope, continue pulling through more and more until the top counter hoop is loose enough to completely pick up off the drum

Make a decision, do you pull the entire drum apart and clean it, preparing the bearing edge for a new head with wax (if you use it) or do you simply replace the head and tighten the drum?

If you choose to clean the drum, pull the rope through enough that the barrel can fit through a gap in the ropes, i.e. the batter side counter hoop or snare side counter hoop can slid off the drum
Slide the hoops off and pull the barrel out. Inspect. Use a damp cloth or sparingly use some light wood cleaner to wipe down the bearing edge and shell, maybe use a vacuum cleaner to suck out any bugs or bits of junk in your shell.
Let the shell dry if any moisture was used to clean it.
If you have wax handy, apply a thin coating to the bearing edge (again, only if you desire it, many don't use wax at all) by running the wax repeatedly over the bearing edge. Why wax? It closes pores, smoothes the burred edge and provides some water proofing where there is normally no finish.
Put the new head(s) on the drum, aligning as you wish, the only gotcha in alignment might be if the snare flesh hoop has a place for the snares, and if there's a logo on the drum head (email for information on how to remove logos from commercial drum heads!).
Fit the counter hoops back on the drum after their inspection and cleaning (drying), aligning to the place you made note of at the start of the process.
Start adding tension to the ropes from the far end (nearest the anchor) to the loose end, take your time pulling just a few inches of slack out of each run of rope around the drum. If you pull all the slack out, and the counter hoop falls of the drum on one side, it will take much longer to realign and remount the counter hoop than if you just left some slack in the lines until the last run around.
Keep pulling slack out in ever increasing pressures, evenly applied around the drum.
On the last few runs you can pull quite a bit (or use a press, if you have one and don't fear the crushing forces applied to your favorite instrument), and move the drum around so as to get the best angle for pulling excess rope. As you near the end, make one last run around cranking the last bits of rope through the hoops ending with a strangle hold on the loose end where it passes through the anchor. Apply the pigtail knot and retie the drag rope.