Figure 1.--The image of the drummer boy for Americans were formed during the Civil War when boys, mostly but not all teenagers, joined the catalclysmic fight. Some like Jinny Clem became iconic figures. This boy may look like a Confederate drummer boy. He was not. Heis a New Yorkn boy. And he probably was not even a drummer boy. Boys from affluent northern families did not not become drummer boys. The drum set was provided by the studiol Notice that the drum is not one that this boy coulkd have possibly carried long distances in the field. He posed as a drummer boy to emulate the aura of the Civil War drummer boy. The iortrait was taken in the Brady New York studio.
The military boys we most commonly hear about in historical eras is drummer boys and muscians in general. Drums have along history in warfare. Not all drummers were boys, but as armies got larger (18th century) we begin to hear accounts of boy drumers. Drums were especially suited for boys. They could make a lot of noise--which at the time was very important. And you did not need to be adult to generate the needed volume of sound. Bugles required adult or near adult lung power. Drums and buggles at the time were not just ceremonial. They conveyed important information before the advent of modern communications as to how military units moved. The were still widely used in combat (19th century). This was when units still moved in close fornmation which was still the case in the American Civil War (1861-65). This began to decline even during the Civil War because of the growing lethality of weaponry. Drummer boys still existed at the time of World War (1914-18), but they very quickly were confined to the parade ground and ceremonial occassions.
Drum History
Given that some animals, an not only primates, make drumming sounds for display and other puroses. It seem very likely that early man may have developed drums of some type. No one know when drums first apprared. Africa is famous for its 'talking' drums, but no one can date the origins. it surely must have been very early. This is imopossible to know with any certainty because drums and drumming devices are primarily made with pershishable materials. The earliest evidence of actual drums were found with neolithic cultures in China ((5500-2350 BC). They were made wiyh aligator skins. If neolitic oeople had then, of course China's rising civilization must have had them as well. Sri Lanka has a long history if drums, although actual finds only date to realatively recent times (500 BC). These drums had uses in communication, music, and ritual. There were also military uses. In the heat of battle, verbal comminications break down, this drums and nyggle-likevindtrumrnts are ways of maninatining military direction. We have little information about the use of drums by ancient armies. The eraliesr seemns to be Chinese, but here there is very little evudence. With the rise of maririme trade and navies using gallies manned by rowers, drums apprared to have been used by necessity to control the rythem of the rowers (about 1500 BC). We have very few details about drums during the medievaln era. We have infornation as we approach the modern era. The size of armies is a factor, the larger the number, the greater the need for battlefield communication. One source suggests that drums were introduced to European armies by the Ottimans (14th century AD). As Europeans began to crerate professiinal armies and develop modern music and instruments, we begin to see military music. The drum was used to faciliate not only marching in step, but as battlefield communication. Various drum rudiments were used to signal commands. Most European armies had develkoped standardized marches and signals. They were often accompanied by fifers--famously in the Archibald Willard's famed 'Spirit of 76' painting. The drum was not feasible for calvalry units. Here the buggle was the preferred battlefield instrument.
Historical Era
The military boys we most commonly hear about in historical eras is drummer boys and muscians in general. Drums have along history in warfare. Not all drummers were boys, but as armies got larger (18th century) we begin to hear accounts of boy drumers.
Ages
Drums were especially suited for boys. They could make a lot of noise--which at the time was very important. And you did not need to be adult to generate the needed volume of sound. Bugles required adult or near adult lung power.
Role
Drums and buggles at the time were not just ceremonial. They conveyed important information before the advent of modern communications as to how military units moved. The were still widely used in combat (19th century). This was when units still moved in close fornmation which was still the case in the American Civil War (1861-65). This began to decline even during the Civil War because of the growing lethality of weaponry. Drummer boys still existed at the time of World War (1914-18), but they very quickly were confined to the parade ground and ceremonial occassions.
We have collected numerous examples drummer boys. As far as we can tell we begin to see drmmers boys (late-18th century). There were of course drummers millenia before this time, but we have no evidence of boys being involved before that time. At the time drummers were an important part of army movement and battlefied manuvering. Verbal commands commonly did not carry over the din of battle, Drums and buggles were very important in maintaining battlefield control. At the onset of working on this topic, we expected to find many accouts of Prussian/German drummer boys. Wevhave not dound any suychbevidence. In fact, the largest rnumbers of images and accounts come from America and Britain. These were the two least militarized countries at the time. Britain had a small, professuinal all volunteer army. They even had to hire Hessian (German) soldirts to fught the Revolutiion. America had a smaller, less profesional military. The Civil War was fought mostly with volunteer militias. Yet the vast number of umages we have found of derummer boys are either American or British. The volunteer nature of these two armies we believe accounts for the large number of boys who joined the colors. And drummers were one of the best used for boys. We note that with Anerican drummer boys, they were usually sent to the rear before an assault. We are less sure about the British.
