JORDANNOBLESCRIPT

JORDANNOBLESCRIPT

This field drum belonged to Battle of New Orleans veteran Jordan Noble, and was built in 186 U.S. Army0. Jordan, was the enslaved chattel of Captain John Noble of the 7th Infantry. Captain Noble gave him his surname as he was used to play drums for the U.S. military in the Battle of New Orleans, which occurred January 8, 1815. Drum patterns were used to convey important military commands such as advance, fire, cease fire, or retreat. In 1813 Jordan was an teenage enslaved person who had recently moved to Louisiana with mother and his master.His master was John Brandt who was the Quartermaster for the 7th Infantry during the Battle of New Orleans At the conclusion of the Battle, General Andrew Jackson did not assist Jordan in obtaining his FREEDOM for his service. Jordan and his mother were sold after the war to Major Alexander White of the 44th Infantry. Jordan Bankston Noble went on to serve in three more wars. In the 1830s still enslaved he was the drummer again in the Florida Seminole Wars. He and his family were Emancipated prior to 1840. His Emancipation came about as a direct result of the death of his master! Jordan Bankston Noble as a Free Man of Color volunteered to served in the Mexican War of the 1840s and for that service he received 160 acres of Bounty Land from the U.S. Government.. During the U.S. Civil War of the 1860s, he first organized Free Men of Color for the Confederacy, and then helped to organize the Louisiana Native Guards at The Historic Saint James A.M.E.Church for the Union. In the 1880s, the city honored the drummer with a parade, in which his legacy was acknowledged. In 1884 he was inducted into The Grand Army of the Republic.A Fraternal Organization of Civil War Veterans. The Jordan Noble drum is decorated with red wooden drumheads on each opening and a picture of an eagle with a shield and stars behind it above this is a cloud with castles on it. The drum also has red strings along the sides. This eagle emblem, symbolizing the United States, reflects Jordan Bankston Noble’s patriotism and commitment to the U.S.Update material provided by Al Jackson Curator of The Historic Treme Collection, Inc.