Cavalry Trumpeters and Kettledrummers : The Birth of the Mounted Band

Cavalry Trumpeters and Kettledrummers is the first history of how horse-mounted musicians shaped military ceremony, communication, and culture from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. Blending musicology, military history, and cultural studies, author Bruce P. Gleason draws on archival sources, art, and military records from across Europe and beyond to trace how these mounted musicians evolved from battlefield signalers to symbols of prestige, discipline, and power. Beginning with Middle Eastern trumpeters and kettledrummers playing in battle during the Crusades, mercenaries brought the tradition back to Europe, where it gradually gained other instruments, resulting in fanfare ensembles of trumpets, horns, valved brass bands, and bands that combined various woodwind and brass instruments. Gleason details their operational roles, ceremonial functions, and influence on both military and civilian musical traditions. Richly illustrated and grounded in meticulous research, Cavalry Trumpeters and Kettledrummers tells the story of how mounted military music became one of the most striking and enduring traditions in Western culture, revealing a world where music, ceremony, and warfare were deeply connected.