Koster’s revolutionary soldiers look a lot like Redcoats

Republican John Koster hopes supporters for his congressional campaign are filled with a spirit of revolution like that which spurred the nation to independence in 1776

A flier publicizing activities this weekend pushes the theme with a montage of images including the phrase “We the People”, an American flag and a corps of military drummers.

Wait, are those drummers really Continental soldiers? They’re wearing what sure look like the ‘red coats’ of the British soldiers.

They are patriot soldiers, said Larry Stickney, manager of Koster’s campaign against U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-WA.

To prove it, he laid out all the research he’d done to confirm its accuracy to himself and others who might do a doubletake.

He said the photo purchased from a commercial service is of a reenactment performance of the U.S. Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corp.

He directed me to this link to learn why the Continental drummers dressed like the soldiers of the monarchy.

“The musicians of this unit recall the days of the American Revolution as they perform in uniforms patterned after those worn by the musicians of Gen. George Washington’s Continental Army. Military musicians of the period wore the reverse colors of the regiments to which they were assigned. The uniforms worn by the members of the Corps are dated circa 1781, and consist of black tricorn hats, white wigs, waistcoats, colonial coveralls, and red regimental coats.”

At this link, is material from a story by James Collett, Drummer Boys, used in a fourth grade reading class in North Carolina.

Here’s a key passage:

The drummers’ communication function was so important that they often had their own special uniforms. In early American armies, they wore reversed colors, meaning that the combination of colors they wore was opposite that worn by the troops. This allowed officers to locate the musicians quickly for changing commands.

To add a little more certainty, I sought out a history professor at the University of Washington. He informed me that in The Book of the Continental Soldier by Harold L. Peterson I’d read that uniforms of the regimental musicians were to be the reverse of the those of the regiment, following European custom.

Enough for me and maybe too much for Stickney to keep using the image?

“We relate to the war for independence and the spirit of 1776,” he said of Koster’s campaign. “I love this thing. But if you have to always explain it then maybe we have to look again at continuing to use it.”