British Military Music in Battle during the Napoleonic Wars

Abstract This article investigates the presence and significance of British military music in action during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Based on a diverse body of sources, including contemporary military manuals, archival collections, and soldiers’ memoirs, it argues that regimental bands did not normally strike up in the heat of battle. Highland pipers, on the other hand, were celebrated for playing in combat. Bugles and trumpets were crucial for relaying tactical commands to dispersed skirmishers and cavalrymen, but British drummers were less often heard under fire. The article also explores the non-musical duties of drummers and bandsmen in combat, including their contributions as stretcher-bearers. It ends by highlighting music’s importance in shaping how battles were remembered, drawing on evidence from regimental commemorations and Victorian military art.