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Tippecanoe Ancient
Fife & Drum Corps |
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The Uniforms |
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The Tippecanoe Ancient Fife and Drum Corps' unique uniforms replicate those of the Compagnies Franches de la Marine du Canada. In 1971 the Corps commissioned Mssr. E. Leliepvre, the official artist-historian of the French Army in Paris, to research the original uniforms of the Compagnies Franches. His research was climaxed with original watercolor sketches of the uniforms. With the detailed drawings of Mssr. Leliepvre in hand, the Corps sought out the expertise of the tailor of the Company of Military Historians, William Draper III of East Lansing, Michigan. This uniform specialist had reconstructed uniforms for such prestigious groups as the U. S. Military Academy and the troops at Michilimackinac as well as many other regiments. |
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The Tippecanoe Ancient Fife and Drum Corps' unique uniforms replicate those of the Compagnies Franches de la Marine du Canada. In 1971 the Corps commissioned Mssr. E. Leliepvre, the official artist-historian of the French Army in Paris, to research the original uniforms of the Compagnies Franches. His research was climaxed with original watercolor sketches of the uniforms. With the detailed drawings of Mssr. Leliepvre in hand, the Corps sought out the expertise of the tailor of the Company of Military Historians, William Draper III of East Lansing, Michigan. This uniform specialist had reconstructed uniforms for such prestigious groups as the U. S. Military Academy and the troops at Michilimackinac as well as many other regiments. The uniforms are individually hand tailored of 30 ounce Kersey wool and consist of two parts -- the basic fatigue uniform and the additional items which make it into a dress uniform for formal wear. The musicians wear red breeches and a sleeved waistcoat trimmed with two dozen brass buttons. |
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The musicians' dress coat (justacorps) is blue with red and white braid which was woven especially for the Corps in Belgium. This coat is also trimmed with twenty-four buttons. White Irish gaiters are trimmed with thirty-six leather buttons and buckled leather garters. The fatigue cap features the insignia of the Company, and the tri-cornered dress hat is black with gold braid and a black cockade. The soldiers' uniforms are identical in design to those of the musicians, but their fatigue uniforms are blue and the dress coats are grey. The original uniforms were constructed by prisoners at Marseilles, and the museum-quality replicas are authentic down to the imperfectly matched thread and occasional raw edges. The Color Guard carries hand-wrought ceremonial pole arms, authentic reproductions of 18th century muskets, and the flag of the Compagnies Franches. Drummers carry rope-tension drums, hand decorated with French fleur-de-lis. The Musicians' fifes are hand crafted from grenadilla wood imported from South Africa. |
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Les Compagnies Franches de la Marine
recreated in 1969 on the banks of the Wabash by
The Tippecanoe Ancient Fife & Drum Corps |
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