Original Civil War Drum (SOLD)

This is a piece I am offering from my own collection which I had for over twenty years, it is an original Civil War drum. It has a diameter of 17” and is 13” high – pretty much in relic condition. Most of the original ropes and leather tighteners are still on the drum. Both of the heads are cracked but I put a piece of hard stock paper on one end for display, which works very well. A piece of the maple body is slightly lifted, but I believe this could be reglued.

At the time, most Americans believed that war was an unpleasant and remote tragedy, initially it was embraced with an inexperienced, intense, sometimes romantic interest. It was your basic, “How are you going to keep them down on the farm?” The Civil War offered bored young men toiling in the fields the adventure and excitement they yearned for.

Though the legal enlistment/conscription age at that time was 16 years old, younger boys often falsified birth certificates or simply lied about their age to recruiting officers with a less than discernable eye. Those who couldn’t pass as 16 did, however, have a recourse: they could enlist as drummer boys. “I wanted to fight the Rebs,” a 12-year-old boy wrote, “but I was very small, and they would not give me a musket. The next day I went back and the man behind the desk said I looked as if I could hold a drum and if I wanted, I could join that way. I did, but I was not happy to change a musket for a stick.”

Able-bodied men were desperately needed in the front lines, so the position of drummer was often filled by slight young men or very young boys, some as young as eight years old – absurd as that may sound, unlike the drummers in today’s modern army, Civil War drummer boys were an integral part of the war machine.

The role of a Civil War drummer boy went far beyond a ceremonial accoutrement, as they were responsible for troop movement. “Drum Calls” were a means of communicating the commands of officers to their men. You may be familiar with some of these calls: “Three Camps” was reveille, “Tattoo” meant bedtime, “Commence Firing,” “Quick Step,” “Advance” and “Retreat” were all part of the repertoire of the well-trained drummer boy.

Drummer boys controlled virtually every daily activity of the infantry soldier. With this responsibility, it was not surprising that the drummer boy’s training was rigorous. Of course, there were formal schools of instruction, like the Schools of Practice at Governor’s Island, New York Harbor, and Newport Barracks, Kentucky, but most drummer boys learned by “on the job” training. During combat, they were called upon to act as stretcher bearers during the heat of battle. A period photograph of drummers in the 101st Pennsylvania Infantry show this same drum (see pictures).

As seen in the pictures, a near identical drum that was used in the Battle of Gettysburg is part of the Frankford, PA collection. They had it professionally restored, which also could be done with this drum if desired (see pictures). There is also a very similar drum which is in the Gettysburg National Park Museum collection (see pictures). Original Civil War drums are not to be played, but only used for display purposes. Often you see elaborate painted drums, but the most common is the one shown here. I had this drum in my collection for over twenty years, and it was always an excellent display piece.