Drums have been used since pre-biblical times. On the battlefield, they assisted commanders in the issuing of orders, in raising the morale of their troops and in frightening the enemy.

At the end of the seventeenth and beginning of the eighteenth centuries, units were increasingly fighting in rigid line formations, and soldiers were trained to move and fight according to precisely determined rules. At the wings and rear of infantry battalions were several drummers who determined the speed of movement by the rhythm of their playing. One beat equalled one step, and the rhythms used were march, normal pace, quick pace, double pace, charge, and so on.

When some foot soldiers became mounted troops (dragoons), their drummers also went on horseback. Their role remained the same: following the dragoons into action when they fought dismounted. The drummers were the last to mount and first to dismount, waiting for a certain signal from their officers.

Saxon dragoon regiments, like many others in Europe, had a staff and six companies of 95 men each. The staff had one drummer, and each company two. The drum-major, a member of the staff, conducted the band of company drummers, who marched at the head of the regiment on ceremonial occasions.

The 8th Austrian Dragoon Regiment (formed as the Dampierre Regiment in 1619) had a rare privilege: its men had once saved the life of Emperor Ferdinand II, so it was allowed to play its drums while passing the imperial palace.

The elite regiments of heavy cavalry also had drummers, but only for ceremonial purposes – reviews and parades. Dragoon drummers had infantry drums, slung on a strap over their shoulders, while those of cavalry regiments used kettle drums fastened to their horses’ saddles. They were not supposed to be taken off the saddles and, richly ornamented with coats-of-arms or regimental badges, in time they reached large proportions, up to 1 m/3 ft in diameter. The kettle drummers formed part of the regimental orchestras, and rode white or dappled horses, just like the trumpeters. In time, as dragoon regiments acquired more characteristics of real cavalry units, their infantry drums were replaced with kettle drums.

At the beginning of the eighteenth century Hungarian hussar regiments had a drummer. These regiments were owned by Hungarian magnates who raised them and outfitted them for war. The traditional drummer had the role of messenger, who, according to custom, called the populace to city and village squares and read them orders and proclamations. The hussar drummers called the men to the regimental flag. In the second half of the eighteenth century, when these regiments lost their seasonal character and moved into barracks, drummers were no longer needed.