A fifer is a non-combatant military occupation of a foot soldier who originally played the

fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

during

combat Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

. The practice was instituted during the period of

Early Modern warfare Early modern warfare is the era of warfare following medieval warfare. It is associated with the start of the widespread use of gunpowder and the development of suitable weapons to use the explosive, including artillery and firearms; for this ...

to sound signals during changes in formation, such as the

line Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Arts ...

, and were also members of the regiment's military band during marches. These soldiers, often boys too young to fight or sons of NCOs, were used to help infantry battalions to keep marching pace from the right of the formation in coordination with the drummers positioned at the centre, and relayed orders in the form of sequences of musical signals. The fife was particularly useful because of its high pitched sound, which could be heard over the sounds of battle. Fifers were present in numerous wars of note, as Armies of the 18th and 19th centuries "depended on company fifers and drummers for communicating orders during battle, regulating camp formations and duties, and providing music for marching, ceremonies, and moral." The usual allocation of fifers in a battalion during the Early Modern warfare period varied from five to eight. The field music regimental bands, particularly of the high prestige units such as the guards had as many as 32 (in the Preobrazhensky regiment) or more fifers. Some fifers, as part of the fife and drum corps that accompanied British Captain

Arthur Phillip Admiral Arthur Phillip (11 October 1738 – 31 August 1814) was a British Royal Navy officer who served as the first governor of the Colony of New South Wales. Phillip was educated at Greenwich Hospital School from June 1751 unti ...

and the

First Fleet The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command ...

, were present at important Australian, such as the reading of the Governor's Commission on 2 February 1788 at

Sydney Cove Sydney Cove (Eora: ) is a bay on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour, one of several harbours in Port Jackson, on the coast of Sydney, New South Wales. Sydney Cove is a focal point for community celebrations, due to its central Sydney locatio ...

. Fifers were also present in the American Revolutionary War, although there were at times shortages of fifers that were "fit for duty." This staffing dilemma lead to the creation of a "learner" fifer category, which were drawn from within the revolutionary ranks rather than externally recruited.

References

Sources

* Nafziger, George, ''The Russian Army 1800-1815'', Rafm Co.Inc., Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, 1983 * http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/music/military/ {{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905001852/http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/music/military/ , date=2008-09-05 Military music

References

Sources

See also