CONTENTS

2003–2004 Electronic
Field Trip Schedule

Next Program:
Soldier of Liberty
October 9, 2003

Two hundred years ago, the military used fifers and drummers to communicate signals to the army. Just about every part of the day and every important drill movement was signaled by fife and drum. We've assembled a few drum commands and placed them at your fingertips (or perhaps that's mouse tip!) so you give students a sample of what it was like to communicate with hundreds of soldiers in the days before computers, telephones, and walkie-talkies. Have Fun!

Fifers and drummers were essential to the 18th-century military. They were the communications system, regulating the soldiers' day in camp and providing signals to the troops on the field of battle. Where did the army find these young musicians? In Virginia, two men—Thomas Sterling and Thomas Hookins—placed an advertisement in the Virginia Gazette, offering to teach new fifers and drummers.

A Internet search can reveal a bewildering array of sites dealing with the American Revolution. But where do you start and how do you decide which sites have the best, most reliable information? This article offers a starter list of Web sites with content on lesser-known aspects of the Revolutionary War, including loyalists, African-American participation, and women's roles. Learn More!

Colonial Williamsburg offers a variety of quality instructional materials dealing with 18th-century life, including:
—Hands-On History: Soldier's Haversack (object kit)
—Songs for a Revolution (lesson unit)
—Tin Whistles and Fifes
—Marching Out of Time (music CD or cassette)
—The Eye of the Beholder: Looking at Primary Sources (lesson unit)
—The Rise And Fall Of The Powhatan Empire: Indians In Seventeenth-Century Virginia (book)

Learn More!

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is proud to host the second annual Reader's Digest National Word Power Challenge March 23–26, 2004. This vocabulary contest is open to students in grades 4–8 from all 50 states, Washington D.C., American territories, Department of Defense schools, and students who are home-schooled. Learn More.

Thomas Jefferson in a letter to
John Randolph, November 29, 1775