Vintage Revolutionary War " Fifer " Figurine J. Wright Pewter
Item History & Price
These soldiers, often boys too young to fight or sons of NCO's, 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, [1] 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.
The usual allocation of fifers in a battalio
Some fifers, as part of the fife-and-drum corps that accompanied Captain Arthur Phillip and the First Fleet, were present at important national historical events, such as the reading of the Governor's Commission on 2 February 1788 at Sydney Cove.