Gettysburg history just gets more and more fascinating the deeper and deeper you dig. Try this one on for size. ***A brief departure from Ask A Gettysburg Guide for the 163rd Anniversary week*** Last year, one of our Patrons suggested we interview his friend Jim Smith, known as **"The Yankee Drummer Boy,"** about his work as a living historian and his remarkable tribute to Civil War history.
🔴163 Gettysburg Anniversary: The Yankee Drummer Boy with Jim Smith June 28, 2026
In this episode: Special thanks to Patron Rich Snyder for arranging this interview and bringing his friend Jim Smith to the studio. 50 years after marching to Gettysburg, beating his drum, to fight the battle, Peter Guibert marched again. This time from Pittsburgh to Gettysburg, still beating his drum. 100 years after that, Jim Smith recreated Guibert's route. Join me as I chat with Jim about Civil War martial music, drumming, Guibert and a host of other things.
Discussion Topics: Peter Guibert 1913 march from Pittsburgh to Gettysburg reunion Finding Peter Guibert's name on Pennsylvania Monument Recalling Jim's first trip to Gettysburg The use of drums at President Kennedy's Funeral Peter Guibert's Civil War Drum Reconditioning an old drum Difference in sound from a brass shell and a wood shell Jim retracing Peter Guibert's march from Pittsburgh to Gettysburg Stories from the march The power of the drum calls The use of bands in the Civil War Types of drums and their construction Origin of TAPS and the difference of how it was played in the 18th and 19th century Playing of reveille The rudiments of learning the drum The old drum and fife performance vs modern depictions Jim meeting and playing with Santana References: Elizabeth Thorn of Gettysburg: The Wartime Caretaker of Evergreen Cemetery - Kathryn Porch and Sue Boardman Bivouac of the Dead - Theodore O'Hara National Cemetery Administration (.gov)https://www.cem.va.gov"Bivouac of the Dead" poem by Theodore O'Hara Vantage Point, The Perspectives On The Presidency 1963-1969 - Lyndon B. Johnson The Drummers' and Fifers' Guide - George Bruce and Dan Emmett Howe's United States Regulation Drum and Fife Instructor - Elias Howe THE GRAND ARMY BLUE-BOOK: Containing the Rules and Regulations of the Grand Army of the Republic, and Official Decisions and Opinions Thereon, as Reported to and Approved By the National Encampment to September 13, 1901 HathiTrusthttps://catalog.hathitrust.orgCatalog Record: Ritual of the Grand Army of the Republic The Civil War - 1990 Ken Burns Documentary Series
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