Drumming out is the historical act of being
dishonorably dismissed from military service to the sound of
the Rogue's March or a drum. In modern figurative usage, it may refer to any act of expulsion or dismissal in disgrace.
Origin
One of the earliest recorded references to drumming out occurs in
Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early ...
's ''
Moral Essays'', 3rd epistle, 1731–1733: "Chartres was a man infamous for all manner of vices. When he was an ensign in the army, he was drummed out of the regiment for a cheat; he was next banished Brussels, and drummed out of Ghent, on the same account."
It also occurs in a figurative sense in
Thomas Amory's 1766 ''Life of John Buncle'': "They ought to be drummed out of society."
American Revolutionary War
The earliest known discharge of an American soldier by drumming out involved the drumming out of Moses Pickett for “Disobedience of orders, and damning his Officers,” Washington reviewed the sentence and approved its enforcement. He instructed that it be carried out in General Orders for 15 September 1775.
American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
officers drummed out of service might have their heads shaved and their uniforms
stripped of insignia and be paraded in front of their comrades. Fellow officers were forbidden to touch the person being dishonorably discharged, but in more than one case after the war had ended, a drummed-out man was found dead after receiving a beating from his former comrades. When someone was being drummed out, the tune "Rogue's March" would be played.
References
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See also
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Cashiering
Cashiering (or degradation ceremony), generally within military forces, is a ritual dismissal of an individual from some position of responsibility for a breach of discipline.
Etymology
From the Flemish (to dismiss from service; to discard ...
Military life
Punishments