Military Fifes
which he ignominiously terms "a whistle," and says that it is to the voice of the drum that the soldier should wholly attend. These early fifers would seem to have been often "but easy players and very drunkards." The band of the British Royal Artillery, when at St. Quentin in 1557, included a "drum and phife," and a document of the year 1621 mentions that the English army had forty drummers and forty fifers.
The following curious regulations were laid down at this period for army fifers:—"All capitaines must have drommes and ffifes, and men to use theDuties of
Military
Fifers same, who shall be faithfull, secrete, and ingenious, of able personage to use their instruments and office, of sundrie languages; for oftentimes they bee sent to parley with their enemies, to sommon theire efforts and diverse other messages, which of necessitie requireth language. If such drommes and ffifes should fortune to fall into the hands of the enemies, noe guifte nor force should cause them to disclose any secrettes that they knowe. They must often practice theire instruments, teach the companye the soundes of the marche, allarum, approache, assaulte, battaile, retreate, skirmishe, or any other challenge that of necessitie should be knowen. They must be obediente to the commandemente of theire captaine and ensigne, when as they shall command them to comme, goe, or stande, or sound theire retreate
or callinge."
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