This kettle drum belonged to the band of the British IXth Regiment of Foot which surrendered to American forces according to the terms of the Convention of Saratoga in 1777. The drum along with other trophies of war was sent to the military post at West Point where it has remained ever since.
The West Point Museum at the United States Military Academy contains one of the oldest and largest diversified public collections of militaria in the Western Hemisphere. The West Point Museum is internationally known and respected as an authority on military history and heritage. Today the exhibits of the West Point Museum represent the culmination of more than two centuries of preserving our military heritage for the United States Corps of Cadets and the American people.
As a department of the United States Military Academy, the museum's mission is to "collect, preserve, exhibit and interpret historically significant artifacts pertaining to the United States Military Academy from its inception to the present, and the profession of arms as it relates to the United States Army. As an educational institution, the museum supplements cadet academic, cultural and military instruction in the profession of arms and provides educational programs and services for military and civilian personnel. As a public institution, the museum stimulates interest in the United States Military Academy, the United States Army and the military profession in general. The West Point Museum is the oldest Museum in the U.S. Army Museum System, being opened to the public since 1854.
Courtesy of the West Point Museum