Chapter 3

George P. Carroll Connects with the CWF&D – 1960

The second performance of the Lancraft Fife and Drum Corps in 1959 also involved another very important piece of the Corps’ history.  Attending the performance as a spectator was George P. Carroll, a 26 year old Specialist 5 in The U.S. Army Band at Ft. Meyer, Virginia.

Carroll was a percussionist in The U. S. Army Band who had become keenly interested in 18^th century fifing and drumming.  He was researching and collecting music from the period and he knew of the tradition of fifing and drumming in New England and of the stature of the Lancraft Corps.  When he learned they were performing in Williamsburg, he says he came down from Ft. Meyer “as a visitor, specifically to see them.” Carroll’s visit would lead to contacts with Colonial Williamsburg and his eventual hiring two years later as Colonial Williamsburg’s first Music Master and Drum Major.  Ten years later, in 1969, Carroll would travel with the Lancraft Corps to a muster in Basil, Switzerland.

Carroll says “Colonial Williamsburg was very impressed by the Lancraft Corps … They were a great corps, and still are one of the best corps in New England. Their drumming was so accurate that if you had a pistol and you shot off one of the tips of the drum sticks you‘d get all of them because of their great placement.” After visiting Williamsburg, Carroll also was intrigued with the idea of a Colonial Williamsburg fife and drum corps, thinking “wouldn’t it be nice to be involved with something like that (the Lancraft Corps) with Colonial Williamsburg?”

Soon after the Lancraft Corps’ appearance in May, 1959, Carroll began communicating with Bill Geiger. There were a few phone calls exchanging information.  In July of 1959, Carroll provided information to Colonial Williamsburg on 18^th century cockades.  On September 19^th he wrote “I have received no word from the Commanding Officer of the Militia.  I am anxious to hear if the donation of my time would be desirable or appreciated.”  On September 29, 1959, Reveille responded saying “Our Militia program, except for the special Christmas events, will end in October.  Because of this we could not impose on your kindness at this time. We will certainly keep this offer in mind and if you feel you can help us next year then we will get in touch with you.”  It appears Geiger and Reveille did not fully know of Carroll’s qualifications.

By the end of 1959, Carroll became directly involved in the founding of the U.S. Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, which became an active military unit in February of 1960.   While in The U.S. Army Band Carroll had done research on authentic 18^th century fifing and drumming.  He was asked to prepare a “TO&E” (Table of Organization and Equipment) for the new unit and to be its technical advisor for the formation of an authentic fife and drum corps for the U.S. Army 3^rd Infantry, the “Old Guard.”

In the spring of 1960 Carroll’s role in the formation of the Old Guard Corps became known to Colonial Williamsburg. According to an April 12, 1960, memorandum from Edward M. Riley, Director of Research, to Bill Geiger, Carroll had become known to Harold L. Peterson, the Chief Curator of the National Park Service and Founder and Governor of the Company of Military Collectors and Historians (now known as the Company of Military Historians).  The memorandum from Riley in its entirety reads as follows: 

Re:  Fife and Drum Corps for the 3^rd Infantry, U.S.A.

The following paragraph from a letter of Harold Peterson to me may be of interest to you:   On another subject which may be of some interest. The United States Army Band has recently recruited a drummer who is a specialist in 18^th century military music.  In addition to his regular duties with the Army Band, he has been assigned to organize and train a fife and drum corps for the 3^rd Infantry, which is believed to be the oldest regiment in the United States Army.  They will be equipped with revolutionary-type instruments and wear uniforms of the period.  George Carroll, the drummer, is a stickler for authenticity of details in playing music and in drill.  In his spare time, he has organized a local fife and drum corps, trained in the same manner. They are becoming quite adept, and the Company of Military Collectors & Historians has arranged for them to play at its annual meeting at Quantico next month.  We were quite intrigued with the audition we heard. Mr. Carroll was asking the other day if Williamsburg ever had any need for such a corps, and remarked that he had seen one down there, which had been imported from Connecticut, and which had only a limited repertoire of 18^th century pieces, and did not do the drill.  I told him I did not know what your desires and needs were for special events, but suggested he might write to Ed Alexander.  This paragraph by way of background in case he should write to Ed.

E.M.R.

Memorandum from Edward M. Riley, Director of Research, to Bill Geiger

Soon after the Old Guard Corps’ activation in February of 1960, the commanding officer of the Third Infantry Regiment (of which the Old Guard Corps was a part), who was a friend of Colonial Williamsburg President Carlisle Humelsine, contacted Humelsine to ask for a meeting between Colonial Williamsburg and First Lieutenant Henry G. (“Glen”) Watson and Carroll. The purpose of the meeting was to seek aid from Colonial Williamsburg in developing the Old Guard Corps.  On May 12, 1960, Humelsine asked Geiger to meet with 1LT. Watson and Carroll. The meeting took place with Geiger on May 13, 1960. Among other things, the Old Guard Corps made a request to borrow four original Brown Bess muskets for the Old Guard Corps to use when they traveled to the Deep River Ancient Muster that July.

Following the meeting with 1LT. Watson and Carroll on May 13^th, Geiger immediately wrote a memorandum about the meeting. His May 13^th memorandum, in its entirety, describes the meeting, and Carroll, as follows:

         To:            Mr. Goodbody

         From:        W.D. Geiger

Re:  Meeting with 3rd Infantry Regiment Fife and Drum          

       Group

Yesterday Mr. Humelsine called me and asked that I meet with Lieutenant Henry   G. Watson and Sergeant George P. Carroll, both of the 3^rd Infantry Regiment, who were in Williamsburg to seek our aid in developing their fife and drum corp.

The aim of the 3^rd Infantry and the commanding officer of the Washington Military District is to make their unit as authentic as possible.  They are fortunate in having complete information on the proper uniforms of the 3^rd Infantry, whose Honor Guard Company’s color guard is already uniformed.  This unit dates from 1784 and is known as the “Old Guard.” The fife and drum group has been in existence only some three months.

I made a number of suggestions which I hope will help them in securing uniforms on a rather restricted budget ($10,000 to secure instruments and uniforms for 36 men).

In discussing problems of mutual interest, I was tremendously impressed with Sergeant Carroll’s knowledge of fife and drum music of this period.  He is without doubt the best informed person in this area that I have met. His job with the new corps is to train the drummers. He is only 27 years old, but has been in the Canadian and American armies for eleven years.  He was selected to form a drum group for Canada’s participation in the Queen’s coronation. He has prepared a book, in draft form, on the music of this period, with fife and drum parts written for B flat wooden fifes and wooden shelled rope-tied field drums.  In addition, he is well versed in the history of the more than 1,000 songs he has collected. His enthusiasm is unlimited and his skill, according to Lieutenant Watson, unmatched…

Sergeant Carroll is familiar with the ancient fife and drum groups of New England and particularly Lancraft who he regards as the best in that area.  He points out, however, and we have been aware of this, that all such units are limited in their pre-Revolutionary repertoire. The Sergeant in his spare time has organized the “Continental Boys Fife and Drum Corps” in Arlington whose reputation is excellent.

You can well imagine that his discussion was of great interest to me and during our meeting three distinct points occurred to me which I would like to refer to you.  They are as follows.

1. I asked Sergeant Carroll to listen to the fife and drum score for the music film. He was not overly impressed with the arrangement of “White Cockade, but felt that the job done on the “Grenadiers” was good, although the drumming was not sharp enough.  Incidentally, the Army Band recording facilities at Fort Meyer are available to his 3^rd Infantry Group, and he offered to record both songs with his group as soon as all of their instruments are available.

2. Sergeant Carroll offered his services on his free weekends to work with our fife and drum group.  We would reimburse him for his travel expenses from Washington and pay him something for his time.  I am confident that his instructions would result in a tremendous improvement in the skills of our group, and introduce a high degree of authenticity which we presently do not have.  This can be achieved with an expenditure of about $400, which I strongly urge be approved. 

3. Both Lieutenant Watson and Sergeant Carroll are anxious to bring this 3^rd Infantry group to Williamsburg.  Sergeant Carroll would also like to bring his boys’ group down.  I was once asked to find an appropriate musical group for our May 15^th program.  The result of this search was Lancraft, and I believe that they were tremendously successful and well-received. The 3^rd Infantry Group will be ready by the time of the meeting of the AP Managing Editors, and I strongly urge that we consider them for this program.

W.D.G.

Memorandum, May 1960, from Bill Geiger to John Goodbody, Vice President, Division of Presentation

Thus began two relationships that would benefit the CW Corps for years.  The first was a ten-year association between Geiger and Carroll, until Geiger’s untimely death in 1970, during which time Carroll with Geiger’s full support, transformed the Corps into one of the preeminent fife and drum corps in the United States.  The second was the relationship between the CW Corps and the Old Guard Corps that continues to this day. Geiger saw in Carroll the solution to improve the Corps’ proficiency. Carroll’s instruction of the talented members of the Corps could take the Corps to the next level and beyond.  By the end of 1960, Geiger’s expectations would be exceeded. Geiger, the military historian and perfectionist, saw similar traits in Carroll and Carroll saw an opportunity to expand his research, and to contribute to the development of, and have an influence in, the re-emerging field of authentic “ancient” martial music. 

Plans progressed quickly to bring to Williamsburg both the Old Guard Corps (which in the spring of 1960 was still being organized and learning to play) and the Continental Boys Fife and Drum Corps, which Carroll had founded in 1959.  Members of this corps would later form Potomac Field Music.

Geiger and Carroll began to share research and information.  In a June 15, 1960, letter, Geiger wrote to Carroll: 

We are now counting on having you come to Williamsburg for a program on the 23^rd of July, 1960.  I have also forwarded your request for four (4) muskets to our Department of Collections and will let you know as soon as possible whether our policy will permit us to loan the weapons in accordance with our conversation.

In this letter I am including the information you requested on the drum beats.  The source of this information is the MILITARY GUIDE, 1776. This publication was written by Thomas Simes, Esquire and is in two volumes.

[Geiger then discusses excerpts from the MILITARY GUIDE and lists over 40 drum signals]

I hope that his information will be of some interest to you and that in our plan for developing some sort of training program for our own group here in Williamsburg, in which you would serve as Instructor, it would be my wish that we could incorporate some of these signals into our group’s musical repertoire.

Very Truly Yours,

William D. Geiger

Letter from William Geiger to George Carroll, June, 1960

On July 8, 1960, Carroll and several members of the Old Guard Corps began instructing the CW Corps.  As planned, the Continental Boys Fife and Drum Corps performed with the Corps on July 23, 1960. The visiting corps provided another example of what the CW Corps could become.  Carroll returned to Williamsburg on weekends for training sessions numerous times in August and September. 

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