Music on the battlefield: From fifes and drums to banjos and bugles, the role of music in the American military spans from the Revolutionary War to today
On a hot summer’s day, William Pat Arinder sat outside a log cabin built in 1838, frailing “Oh! Susanna” on an 1850s banjo. He wore a buttoned-up wool Confederate jacket, faded grey with red detailing at the collar and sleeves, designed for a lanky artillery soldier, with tall leather riding boots and a brown hat embellished with a gold ‘C’ on the side.
