Military Chat

can any one tell me what a drummer would do in the 26th regiment in 1781 . it says on his marriage at st cuthberts carlisle 17 mar 1781 william morrison age 22 batchelor drummer in 26th regiment would he have fought in conflict , etc any info on 26th regiment would be appreciated

Not sure if this is relevant - a result of googling your title.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/26th_%28Cameronian%29_Regiment_of_Foot

North American service, 1767–1800, and the American War of Independence
The regiment remained at Staten Island through the Philadelphia campaign, and in late 1779 were ordered home. The rank and file of the regiment were transferred into other units, and the regimental staff returned to England to raise a new force. On arriving in England they were sent to Staffordshire, and by the end of 1780 had a strength of two hundred men. It moved to Shrewsbury in 1781, growing to a strength of 336 men by the end of the year, and then moved to Scotland via Tynemouth. It remained in Scotland until October 1783, when it moved to Ireland
.............

Unfortunately it wouldn't have put William Morrison in the right place and at the right time to have met and married his wife. Carlisle Castle may have details of more accurate troop movements: they still have an MOD presence there.
The Cumbria's Museum of Military Life may be able to assist
http://www.cumbriasmuseumofmilitarylife.org/

Although many of us could hazard a guess on the duties of a Drummer, for a more definative answer, how about contacting the Imperial War Museum or ask MML?
http://www.iwm.org.uk/connect/contact-us

thank you i will call the cumbrian museum tomorrow when they are open ....i have been googling all morning and at national archives they have on musker rolls a william morrison born glasgow lanarkshire listed 170 - 1846 age 17yr . but again i dont know how they worked as in could he have been in right place at right time to have met and married in 1781

this is the information i recieved on friday 17th april after paying anthony adolph £300 on 3 december 2014 to find the parents of william morrison born spaytree [ aspitria ] acording to 1851 census he came back to me with parents william morrison potter of carcoats and elizabeth hudson married 1771 / 81 st cuthberts carlise who baptised 2 sons on april 1775 names william and isaac he also said william the potter was same person as william the drummer but it clearly stated on familysearch marriage was 1781 and i also had cumbria archive to search they also confirmed marriage was 1781 .. but said the drummer was not same person as potter so where did anthony adolph get this info and why did he not have marriage as 1781 cumbria said the drummer probably went on to be a printer which they had records on ... what a wast of £300 as he sent no proof just coppied what i sent him from cumbria archive ... im no further forward ... i will never pay again that amount for info i allready gave them then went on to say thomas barwick was probably related to morrisons but all he gave me was a very rough scetch which i could not read and a quick email

Linda

Muster Rolls for the regiment would list him if they have survived (at the National Archives) Via the musters for the previous and following years you would be able to trace his Army service although for this early period, it's very unlikely that any personal information would be given.

£300 is a ridiculous amount to pay for such little info - sorry this has happened

I don't KNOW, but I think drummers also doubled up as stretcher bearers.

i have spoken to someone at the cameronian research centre and they have confimed the 26th regiment was a rifle brigade and a drummer would of also fought along with other duties , they also said ther maybe no record left for the years im after as a lot of records got ditroyed in 2nd wold war but he said send them a email with details i have andthey will look but it will take approx 5 weeks to get back to me , i also phoned carlise catle museum with william married there but they hold no record of the cameronians at all

There are Musters at the National Archives for 26th foot for 1781 - just checked. Did you read my previous message? - you didn't even acknowledge it . He might well be in the Musters but any personal info is unlikely to be given . I DO know what I'm talking about - I do a great deal of military research at the National Archives. It's not one of Anthony Adolphs strong points

Drummers were very important in the military .................


They provided drum cadences that set a steady marching pace and elevated troop morale on the battlefield.

In some armies drums also assisted in combat by keeping cadence for firing and loading drills with muzzle loading guns

Plus the drums could be used as a means of signalling from the company commander to convey orders, on and off the field of battle. The drummers would be more aptly described as signallers than musicians, as shouted orders were very hard to hear over the din of battle.

Later, a bugle would become the preferred means of communication on the battlefield, and the drummers adapted, training on bugles and carrying them in battle, but retaining the drum and the title of drummer.

hi TO was plain ann now annielaurie , im very sorry i missed your post and have just read them now , as i said i phone the cameronians up yesterday and sent them a request for more info but they said would take upto 5 weeks to get a reply .. i phoned national archive yesterday [ mon ] and the part i wanted was closed till today so i am given them a call to see what they say , i will let you all know if they have more info on william ,
TO sylanlncanada thank you for your info the cameronian archive said what you said and also they had to fight along with the others

UPDATE after emailing anthony adolph complaining of the very rough scetch and having just going over and double chequing the info cumbria arch found for me and not actually searching for williams parents or looking into william the potter and william the drummer william the potter and william the drummer as the same person , he came back to me and said he made a mistake in sending me the wrong scetch ,,and said he addmits he got the marriage date wrong as he had it as 1771 because [ his words it fitted with the births ] and should of been 1781 which i also pointed out to him he has now sent me another rough scetch wilh haveing williams parents as william the potter and just elizabeth and has all the other morrisons as in drummer and a list of other morrisons just all over the scetch NOT attached to anyone or anything ... what a professional researcher anthony adolph is ....but i will still call national archive and see what they say

National Archives won't search for you (well, unless you pay them quite a high amount!). They wouldn't know if they have anything without searching - Musters aren't indexed

i was on the phone all day yesterday trying to get through with no success i will give them another try today ... and i dont mind paying but not a high amount ! .... so musters are rifles are they .... fforgive me but i know nothing on this subject

A Muster Roll is an official list of Officers and Men of a military unit or ship.
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/muster-roll

Depending when/where, some may give their ages, when enlisted and place of birth.
Nothing to do with Rifles - you might have been thinking of muskets :-D

Links from here will give you a list of independent researchers
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/paid_research.htm
The same link quotes £25 for 15 min if undertaken by an employee of the NA

thanks detective , i managed to get through to na just now and receptionist informed me most lines are down trouble with BT !! so she couldnt transfer me to correct depatment ... i will try again though