Camp Chase 

ABOUT US

The Camp Chase Fifes and Drums has been a leader in historical military field music since 1983. Camp Chase is an authentic recreation of a Civil War-period regimental fife and drum corps named after the combined Union Army training camp and Confederate prisoner of war camp that was located near Columbus, Ohio during the American Civil War. Their music, played on authentic wooden fifes and rope tension drums, comes from the military field music manuals used by the armies of the United States and Europe from the mid-18th century to the late-19th century.
The Corps performs regularly at historical commemorations, reenactments, fife and drum musters, and musical programs around the country.  Its notable performances started with its participation in the 1985 Presidential Inaugural.  Beginning the next year, the Corps took an active role in 125th Anniversary reenactments and National Park Service commemorations of the American Civil War from 1986 through 1990.  During this period the corps was the official field music of the Thomas’s Mudsills reenacting organization of the Western Brigade.  In 1992, Camp Chase was featured along with its friends, the Second Maryland Fife and Drums, as the field music for the motion picture GETTYSBURG.  Camp Chase later served as the field music for the motion picture, GODS AND GENERALS.  In 2000, the Corps performed with Doc Severinsen and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra in a special Independence Day performance broadcast nationally on PBS.  The Corps has performed for the Percussive Arts Society (PASIC), the American Patriots Rudimental Drummers Club (APRDC), and is a member of The Company of Fifers and Drummers.  Camp Chase has performed at a variety of venues and events from Connecticut to Colorado and from Georgia to Michigan.
The Camp Chase Fifes and Drums endeavor to bring the inspiring martial music and authentic uniformity of the country’s most dramatic period to life for modern Americans.  Camp Chase ensures that the memory of the Civil War lives on through the tunes that reflect the hardships and valor of the men who marched to them.
Camp Chase currently offers four CD volumes, the largest selection of Civil War period fife and drum music available today.