CHARLES STEWART ASHWORTH
Charles Stewart Ashworth learned to drum in his homeland of England. He immigrated to the United States, and in Boston, on December 13, 1802, he joined the Marine Corps at the age of 25. Enlistment records indicate that he was 5' 6" tall, with blue eyes and light brown hair; he reported his occupation as “drummer.”1
He entered the Marine Band, established by an Act of Congress on July 11, 1798. On November 24, 1804, he advanced to Drum Major, becoming the band’s second leader following William Farr, who had served as Drum Major since January, 1799.2
While Drum Major, he wrote a manual for all U.S. military musicians titled A New, Useful, and Complete System of Drum Beating. He deposited a copy with the District Court of the District of Columbia on January 15, 1812. Ashworth’s book was the first American drum and fife handbook to show notation for the drum.
Pages 3-5 of Ashworth’s book included notation for a series of drumming exercises, which he listed under the heading “Rudiments for Drum Beating in General.” Ashworth is the first author to use the word “rudiments” to describe these essential drumming skills previously known as “lessons, rules, or exercises.”
The U.S. War Department approved the book, and during the War of 1812, it was the official duty of all U.S. Army, Navy, and Marine musicians. It became a template to subsequent textbooks for military musicians, i.e., The Camp Duty.
George B. Bruce praised Ashworth’s work in the preface of his book, The Drummers’ and Fifers’ Guide. Bruce wrote, “After carefully examining all the drum books that have been published during the past twenty-five years, the author finds none to compare with Ashworth’s Rudimental School.”3
Charles S. Ashworth has earned his title in history as “The Father of American Rudimental Drumming.”
CHARLES EDWARD STUART
On August 24, 1814, after defeating the Americans at The Battle of Bladensburg, a British force led by Major General Robert Ross occupied Washington, D.C., and set fire to many public buildings. The facilities of the United States government, including the White House and the U.S. Capitol, were burned.4
On that fateful day, as the British searched for fuel to start the fire that burned the White House, they found unbound stacks of Ashworth’s book. It was those pages that the British used to ignite the flames.5
The similarity between the name Charles Stewart Ashworth with the name of Prince Charles Stuart was not lost on
British soldiers as they ransacked the Capitol.
Charles Edward Stuart, also known as “Bonnie Prince Charlie” and “The Young Chevalier,” was a central figure of the Jacobite rising of 1745. Prince Charlie intended to restore the Stuart dynasty to Scotland and England’s throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart.
On September 21, 1745, Stuart, with an army of Scottish clansmen, attacked British forces near Edinburgh in the Scottish Highlands and claimed a decisive victory at The Battle of Prestonpans.
Less than a year later, on April 16, 1746, Stuart’s Jacobite forces were defeated by the British at The Battle of Culloden, effectively ending the Jacobite cause.
UNITED STATES FLAG, 1812 — During the War of 1812, the flag had Fifteen stars and fifteen stripes.
NOTES
Historical details about the military service of Charles Stewart Ashworth is from a foreword written by George P. Carroll in a supplement to his facsimile reproduction of Ashworth’s original work. Included with Mr. Carroll’s commentary are his transcriptions of Ashworth’s drum beatings to modern drum notation.
1. Ashworth, Charles Stewart. “A New, Useful and Complete System of Drum Beating.” In A New, Useful, and Complete System of Drum Beating, edited by George P. Carroll, 1–6. Williamsburg, VA: Geo. P. Carroll, 1966
2. “Unit Home.” Charles S. Ashworth. Accessed March 16, 2020. https://www.marineband.marines.mil/About/Our-History/History-of-the-Directors/Charles-S-Ashworth/.
3. Bruce, Geo B., and Dan D. Emmett. The Drummer’s and Fifer’s Guide (New York: Wm. A. Pond & Co., 1862), 3.
4. “Wiki Encyclopedia of Everything - Everipedia.” everipedia.org. Accessed March 16, 2020. https://everipedia.org/wiki/lang_en/Burning_of_Washington.
5. Ashworth, Charles Stewart. “A New, Useful and Complete System of Drum Beating.” In A New, Useful, and Complete System of Drum Beating, edited by George P. Carroll, 1–6. Williamsburg, VA: Geo. P. Carroll, 1966
6. “Be A Fifer! Learn to Play the Fife!” Be A Fifer! Learn to Play the Fife! Edmond Boyle. Accessed May 15, 2020. https://beafifer.com/.
No comments:
Post a Comment