The Drum Major had a pivotal role to play within the Regiment. It was
his duty to train and oversee the practice and to also instil discipline
in the young drummers. His designation as a Drum Major was an appointed
title and not a rank, although he would certainly have been a very experienced
senior drummer. Each Regiment had at least one Drum Major.
This page is designed to pass on the knowledge of the Drum Major and
to outline the role and duties of the Drummers themselves. What
is often forgotten today is that most private soldiers could not read,
many could not tell the time and none could afford a watch. Accordingly
the daily life of the regiment was governed by the drum with designated
tunes and beatings to announce the various activities throughout the
day.
The information within these pages is also very important to the soldier of the line as the calls and signals presented here (as sound files) need to be heard and learnt to facilitate a more accurate portrayal of the daily life within the Regiment.
Calls & Duties - Sound Files
Beat to annouce the start of the day -
Beat to Assemble troops -
Beat to annouce Dinner time -
Beat to tell the troops to Form Square -
Beat to let the troops know they are to March in Column -
Beatings for actions On the Firing Line -
Beat
to let the troops know it's tme to retire to barracks -