Military Drums - British and French Rope - Tension Drums for the Napoleonic Wars

Our replica is based on an original drum captured from the 34e Regiment de ligne at the battle of Arroyo de Molinos on October 28th, 1811. In that battle, the British 34th Regiment of Foot captured its French counterpart including the Drum Major and the Drums. To make this occasion, the British 34th Regiment's Drummers played the captured French drums throughout a good part of the 19th Century before being retired into the Regiment's museum.

This model of drum was used in the French Army from the American Revolution to the end of the Napoleonic era. Each rope tension snare drum has the attractive red/white/blue diamond design painted its hoops. Same size and construction as the originals. If you are not a reenactor drummer, they make perfect coffee or end tables for the den of the Military Heritage Connoisseur.

Shell

brass shell measures 15 inches in diameter and 11 inches in depth (add the size of the hoops to this measurement)

the brass used is referred to as musical brass as it has a small percentage of gold in its composition

Hoops

made of hardwood with 10 drilled holes

painted with a durable enamel

can be custom painted different colours or patterns if you wish

width of hoop is 1 3/4 inches

Heads

Comes with natural calf skin heads.

Price

MUS-001........... unavailable

British and US Army Wooden Drums (Calf-Skin Heads included)

Other companies will sell you drums with 14 inch diameter heads and 12 inch deep shells, but they are too small for the time period! Do you want to spend all that money and find out it is not right? With our drum You get the RIGHT size at the RIGHT price.

Shell

this hardwood laminated shell measures 16 inches in diameter and 16 inches in depth (add the size of the hoops to this measurement). A hardwood ply or laminate chosen over solid because of continual cracking problems experienced historically

air vent hole drilled, stained Walnut, and sealed

Hoops

made of hardwood with 10 drilled Holes

painted with a durable enamel

can be custom painted different colours if you wish

width of hoop is 1 3/4 inches

Heads

Comes with natural calf skin heads WITH the price.

Price

MUS-002............ unavailable

Other Sizes of Wooden Drums (Calf-Skin Heads included)

If you wish a different size wooden drum we sell the following in the same quality as above (measurements of shell):

Coming Soon British Brass Drums (1790-1870) Required by any regiment being stationed in India, the brass became favoured by other regiments and inspection returns and surviving examples show that a number were being used in the British Army both in North America in 1812 and in the Peninsular War and at Waterloo. We are presently studying a couple of originals for details. If you are interested and would like to keep informed on their development simply e-mail us.

Comments on Tuning

Normal conditions such as humidity will slacken the calf skin heads. It is necessary to tighten the calf skin heads to get a crisper sound. As any drummer will tell you, this is the sacrifice you make to get a historically sounding drum! Switching to plastic heads is an alternative for you but we do not sell them because they are not historically correct.

Bugles

Brass Light Infantry Bugles

Introduced near the end of the Napoleonic Wars, this bugle saw extensive use throughout the British Army for the entire 19th Century. When not in use this item makes an excellent display piece, particularly at Christmas time. Many reproductions are a combination of copper and brass, but the one we are offering is ALL brass. This style also saw service in the American Civil War. Comes with photocopies of British Napoleonic period duty calls from an original manual.

MUS-003.....................................SOLD OUT

click on image to enlarge

Contacting us

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