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Eisenbrandt Fife (bottom)
circa 1811
Courtesy of Andrew Parker
During the War of 1812, some American fifers – probably a large number of them – were equipped with fifes made by Heinrich Christian Eisenbrandt (b. 1790, Gottengen, d. 1860), a young German immigrant who at age 18 had fled his native Germany and the wars raging there. The straight, narrow bore and the thin-walled, tapered body with upper body swell found on Eisenbrandt fifes were typical of American fife design.
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December 13, 2012
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America: The Pocket Guide
Want a new way for you and your students to explore American history and civics? This tiny guide introduces you to a very big idea: no matter who you are, where you come from, or what you believe, you are American if you believe in the idea of America. At the heart of America is a great debate over our shared democratic values: law and ethics, freedom and equality, diversity and unity, common wealth and private wealth. These values are all equally important but constantly in tension. America: The Pocket Guide describes these values and shows how the tensions between them have shaped and continue to shape our history. Want a class set? Bulk discounts are available. Email eftsupport@cwf.org for more information.
The Idea of America
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Downloadable American History
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 Contents
Do you and your students know the role musicians played in the American Revolution? Fifers and drummers would relay their commanders’ battle orders, communicate daily routines, and provide a discipline system for the troops in the Continental Army as well as militias. They were the battlefield timekeepers and communicators. In this lesson, students learn the importance of fife and drum players during colonial history, as well as some terms associated with battle orders and daily routines. Then they try playing different commands on fifes and drums using household objects.
Colonial Williamsburg offers a variety of quality American history instructional materials, including:
- Life in the Continental Army Lesson Unit
- Soldier's Haversack Hands-on History Kit
- Songs for a Revolution
Lesson Unit and CD
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Quotation of the Month
"Some persons have an idea that the post of a fifer or a drummer is a very easy one. . . .A fifer or drummer has to fill the orders issued and he may be detached in time of war in twenty different directions in a month. . . .the musician occupies a more dangerous post than any officer in the detachment, save the commander. . . .In a word, the whole duty of a musician is therefore not only a laborious one, but one of the greatest hazard and danger."
—Sammy Dewees, a Continental Army fifer, 11th PA, 1777–1783, from his book A History of the Life and Services of Captain Samuel Dewees, a Native of Pennsylvania, and Soldier of the Revolutionary and Last Wars (also Reminiscences of the Revolutionary Struggle).
Baltimore: Printed by Robert Neilson, No. 6, South Charles Street, 1844. pgs 225–242.
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