Fifer, 2nd Continental Artillery 1/30 FigureWilliam Britain (16092)
Features
- Figure is approximately 2.5" tall
- All metal construction
- Hand painted and ready for display
In the 18th century, military field music acted as a melodic communication system that ordered the soldiers' day and sent vital communications through the chaos of battle. The unique frequencies of the fife and drum were chosen for their ability to carry over long distances and cut through the sound of musketry and cannon fire. In camp, a single fifer and drummer could be heard from nearly a mile off. In British Regiments of the 18th century only the grenadier companies officially had fifers so the ratio was 10 drums to 1 fife. Like drummers, fifers were not always boys; some men spent their entire military careers playing the fife, showing the importance of that skill to the army. Their uniform's reversed colors designated them not only as non-combatant members of the troops, but made them easy to be located by the officers. These standard conventions were customary for both English and American forces.
