Bodleian Libraries, Drumming out of the French army (cropped)

Drumming out is the historical act of being dishonorably dismissed from military service to the sound of the Rogue's March or a drum. In modern figurative usage, it may refer to any act of expulsion or dismissal in disgrace.

Origin

One of the earliest recorded references to drumming out occurs in

Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...

's ''

Moral Essays ''Moral Essays'' (also known as ''Epistles to Several Persons'') is a series of four poems on ethical subjects by Alexander Pope, published between 1731 and 1735. The individual poems are: #''Epistle to Cobham'' (1734, addressed to Sir Rich ...

'', 3rd epistle, 1731–1733: "Chartres was a man infamous for all manner of vices. When he was an ensign in the army, he was drummed out of the regiment for a cheat; he was next banished Brussels, and drummed out of Ghent, on the same account." It also occurs in a figurative sense in Thomas Amory's 1766 ''Life of John Buncle'': "They ought to be drummed out of society."

American Revolutionary War

The earliest known discharge of an American soldier involved the drumming out of

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

Frederick Gotthold Enslin Lieutenant Frederick Gotthold Enslin was a Continental Army officer who the focus of one of three possible cases of sodomy documented in the Continental Army under General George Washington. The case began with a charge against an ensign for slan ...

for attempted

sodomy Sodomy () or buggery (British English) is generally anal or oral sex between people, or sexual activity between a person and a non-human animal ( bestiality), but it may also mean any non- procreative sexual activity. Originally, the term ''sodo ...

in March 1778 during the Revolutionary War. The diary of Lieutenant James McMichael contains a record of the sentence being carried out: The sentencing order, approved by

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

, called for Enslin to be permanently drummed out of the Continental Army.

American Civil War

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

officers drummed out of service might have their heads shaved and their uniforms stripped of insignia and be paraded in front of their comrades. Fellow officers were forbidden to touch the person being dishonorably discharged, but in more than one case after the war had ended, a drummed-out man was found dead after receiving a beating from his former comrades. When someone was being drummed out, the tune "Rogue's March" would be played.

References

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Origin

American Revolutionary War

American Civil War

References

See also