The Derry Patriots were organized in 1927 as the Mayflower Fife and Drum Corps. In 1930 bugles replaced fifes and the Derry Fire Company became the sponsor. After a number of years under the designation of the Derry Firemen's Senior Drum and Bugle Corps, the name was changed to the Derry Crusaders in the early 1960's. The Patriots designation was adopted in 1965 when the corps became a "junior" unit. After many years as a prize-winning parade unit, the Patriots entered the competitive drum corps field scene in 1973. That first year saw the "Pride of Westmoreland" move onto the field with 11 horns and 32 members in all. However the humble beginning, the Patriots survived and 1974 saw the corps develop both in membership and maturity. The 1975 edition of the Patriots 90 members strong, took the field boasting 35 fhorns, a colorguard of 35 girls, and a percussion section of 20 performers. In 1976 the corps finally reached the plateau of winning their first field competition with a corps that was definitely "DCI" bound. But for whatever reason, the corps folded by the beginning of the 1977 season, but that was not the last of the Patriots...