While
US Army does not officially recognize Cadence Calls or Jody’s, they are well
engrained in the fabric of all military services and even police services and
fire departments.
The
two primary types of cadence calls are the marching cadences at 120 beats per
minute, and running cadences which move at 10 beats per minute. While one is
often substuted for the other, this Army-Cadence.com breaks it’s military
cadences by service component and speed, running vs. marching.
The
first use of a beat based marching tool seams to of been started during the
Revolutionary War. According to Sandee Johnson, soldiers who had difficulty
marching were ordered to attach a stack of hay to one foot and a piece of straw
to the other.Therefore when marching
the drill instructor would call out “Hay-foot, straw-foot, Hay-foot” and so on.
This hay-foot, straw-foot technique persisted until the end of the civil war.
The
first recorded history of a cadence call was documented in the spring of 1944
by Colonel Bernard Lentz. Colonel Lentz was the fort’s commanding officer at
the time and published a well referenced account of the events.
…as
a company … was returning from a long tedious march through swamps and rough
country, a chant broke the stillness of the night. Upon investigation, it
was found that a Negro soldier by the name of Willie Duckworth, on detached
service with the
Provisional
Training
Center,
was chanting to build up the spirits of his comrades.
It was not long before the infectious rhythm was spreading throughout the
ranks. Footweary soldiers started to pick up their step in cadence with
the growing chorus of hearty male voices. Instead of a down trodden,
fatigued company, here marched 200 soldiers with heads up, a spring to their
step, and smiles on their faces. This transformation occurred with the
beginning of the Duckworth Chant.
Upon returning to
Fort
Slocum, Pvt. Duckworth, with the aid of
Provisional
Training
Center
instructors, composed a series of verses and choruses to be used with the
marching cadence. After that eventful evening the Duckworth Chant was
made a part of the drill at Fort Slocum as it proved to be not only a
tremendous morale factor while marching, but also coordinated the movements of
close order drill with troop precision
This
“Duckworth chant” as it first became known, did not just stop at
Fort
Slocum.
Col Lentz saw the great utility in keeping moral and raising soldiers spirits
that he ordered these Duckworth chants recorded and sent throughout the
military force.
History of Cadences