Webster Snare Drum
date: label: date made
content: 1790-1820
notes: label: Description
content: <p>This snare drum was made by John Webster, near Spencertown, New York, around 1790-1820. It has a painted shell with a painted eagle with its characteristic “frog-legged” design that appears during the period of the 1790s to about 1820 on U.S. militia canteens, belt plates, cap insignia and knapsacks. Also this basic design, with a shield on the eagle‘s breast, was used on the U.S. Peace medals of 1792 and 1793. There are 13 stars painted on the drum shell in a circular pattern around the eagle motif. Also, there are 4 additional stars painted vertically to the right side of the eagle motif.</p>
label: Description
content: <p>The drum has two wood hoops drilled with 9 holes each for rope, which at one time, was laced through leather ears, used to tighten the hoops. There are 2 skin heads in poor condition and remnants of a gut snare. The drum is disassembled and would require conservation to bring it back to its original condition. It is accessioned with a pair of hardwood drum sticks. There is a label inside the shell that is inscribed:</p>
label: Description
content: <p>“I was made by John Webster 3 miles north of Spencertown Meeting House Sept 1779”</p>
label: Description
content: <p>As indicated in correspondence with the previous owner, this drum was brought back from the War of 1812 by Captain John George Snyder. Further research is needed to determine details of Snyder’s military career.</p>
place: label: place made
content: United States: New York, Spencertown
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Musical Instruments
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content: Music & Musical Instruments
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content: Percussion
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content: Military
label: Exhibition
content: Price of Freedom
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1989.0355.01
label: catalog number
content: 1989.0355.01
label: accession number
content: 1989.0355
objectType: label: Object Name
content: drum
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: paint (overall material)