American Fife: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This fife was made by an unknown maker in the United States, around 1850-1860. It is made of black-stained wood, ferrules are missing. According to the accession paperwork, this fife was used by the donor’s father during the Civil War.

The United States National Park Service Civil War Database lists Edwin Quincy Stoddard (1843-1927) as a private in Company H of the 11th Regiment, Minnesota Infantry. He was mustered in August 27, 1864, and mustered out June 26, 1865

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1850-1860
• Object Name: fife
• Physical Description: wood (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 14 3/8 in x 3/4 in; 36.5125 cm x 1.905 cm
• place made: United States
• ID Number: MI.77.11
• accession number: 1977.1108
• catalog number: 77.11
• Credit Line: Bequest of Edna G. Leidinger
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.