Fife, drum and bugle corps that kept step with colonial troops provided more than just music.

They were the messengers and morale keepers– their high-pitched tunes cutting through artillery sounds to deliver key instructions to troops and the cadence of their melodies providing a pace for soldiers marching into battle.

According to information compiled by Col. Ronald W. Barnes, Commanding Officer of the Pawtuxet Rangers, the “fifers and drummers would provide the music for all of the things that soldiers would need to do throughout the day.  Music echoed through camps, battlefields and marches.”

The drums were the heartbeat of that music and now Barnes and other members of the Rangers are concerned that that heartbeat might be silenced.

“We are immediate need of drummers,” Barnes said in an interview last week. “We’re looking for adults who want to play and to help us build our drum line back up.

“It’s a great opportunity to volunteer, learn about the Pawtuxet Rangers and be part of your community,” he said.

The Pawtuxet Rangers, based in Pawtuxet Village on the Cranston-Warwick line, are one of the oldest existing chartered colonial militias in the country, and they are one of only a handful in the country to have a fife and drum corps.

The group is dedicated to preserving Revolutionary War history in the area and works side by side with Gaspee Days Committee which organizes annual events center of the 1772 burning of the British Naval schooner, the HMS Gaspee, off Rhode Island’s shore – a key event in the start of the Revolutionary War.

The Pawtuxet Rangers are among the most active of Rhode Island’s historic militia groups, Barnes said, noting that the militia and its fife and drum corps are constantly sought after for participation a wide variety of public events including parades, ceremonial State functions, and battle reenactments.

Historically, Barnes said, the importance of the fife and drum corps is key since they were the one means of communication that could reach soldiers “over long distances and over the noise of a battlefield.”

Linda Deming, a major with the Pawtuxet Rangers and commanding officer of the fife and drum corps, said they are hoping to attract a few adults with drumming experience.  The two drums used are snare drums and bass drums.

Deming, who has been with the Rangers for more than 50 years and plays the fife, said that people often find being in the corps informative – and fun.  “We have so much fun when we get together and jam at our (weekly) rehearsals,” she said.  “And this is a truly unique way to be part of history.”

Deming and Barnes said that, ideally, the drum line for the fife and drum corps would consist of at least four snare drums and two bass drums.  They are now down to only a couple of people, some with limited availability, Deming said.

Barnes noted that with 2024 marking the 250^th anniversary of the Rangers, and looking ahead to the busy early summer season of Gaspee Days activities, the organization is hopeful that they will find drummers ready to answer the call of history.

“We’re looking for some people to donate their time and talent to the community,” he said.