H I S T O R Y

The groggy soldier woke up to a persis-tent, brain-rattling drumming noise.

Th rump. Th rump. Th rump. He rolled over in an attempt to ignore the sound and pulled his blanket up over his head. Th e drum-ming went on and intensifi ed as drummers all over camp signaled the call to muster.1 Th ere was no escaping it, and eventually—and usually with a grumble—the soldier got up to start another day.

Soldiers probably came to hate the sound of the drums, especially when they heard them on a drizzly, cold morning. Yet

drummer boys who served during the Civil War provided valuable service to the armies of both sides, although some didn’t realize it at fi rst.

“I wanted to fi ght the Rebs,” a twelve-year-old boy wrote, “but I was very small and they would not give me a musket. Th e 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.”

Th is boy was disappointed at being assigned a “nonfi ghting” and, to him, dull job. Most likely, he saw himself always 1. muster: assemble; come together.

Vocabulary intensifi ed (ihn TEHN suh fyd) v.: increased;

strengthened.

Read with a Purpose Read this historical account to learn about

the role of drummer boys in the Civil War.

Preparing to Read for this selection is

on page 545.

Build BackgroundCurrently, the minimum age for enlistment in the United States Armed Forces

is seventeen. During the Civil War, boys as young as twelve enlisted in the army

(often lying about their age) and found themselves marching alongside grown

men—often as drummers. Many of these drummer boys were runaways or

were homeless.

by Jim Murphy

and

Drumbeats and Bullets 549

drumming in parades or in the safety of camp. He would soon learn diff erently.

Th e beat of the drum was one of the most important means of communicat-ing orders to soldiers in the Civil War. Drummers did fi nd themselves in camp sounding the routine calls to muster or meals and providing the beat for marching drills. But more oft en than not, they were with the troops in the fi eld, not just march-ing to the site of the battle but in the middle of the fi ghting. It was the drumbeat that told the soldiers how and when to maneuver2 as smoke poured over the battlefi eld. And the sight of a drummer boy showed soldiers where their unit was located, helping to keep them close together. A

Drummers were such a vital part of battle communication that they oft en found themselves the target of enemy fi re. “A ball hit my drum and bounced off and I fell over,” a Confederate drummer at the Battle of Cedar Creek recalled. “When I got up, another ball tore a hole in the drum and another came so close to my ear that I heard it sing.”

Naturally, such killing fi re alarmed many drummer boys at fi rst. But like their counterparts with rifl es, they soon learned how to face enemy shells without fl inching. Fourteen-year-old Orion Howe was struck by several Confederate bullets during the Battle of Vicksburg in 1863. Despite his wounds, he maintained his position and

relayed the orders given him. For his brav-ery, Howe would later receive the Medal of Honor.

Drumming wasn’t the only thing these boys did, either. While in camp, they would carry water, rub down horses, gather wood, or cook for the soldiers. Th ere is even evi-dence that one was a barber for the troops when he wasn’t drumming. Aft er a battle, most drummers helped carry wounded soldiers off the fi eld or assisted in burial details. And many drummer boys even got their wish to fi ght the enemy.

Fighting in the Civil War was particu-larly bloody. Of the 900 men in the First

Vocabulary vital (VY tuhl) adj.: of great importance or need.A Read and Discuss What have we learned so far?

2. maneuver (muh NOO vuhr): move as a troop.

550 Unit 2 • Collection 5

Maine Heavy Artillery, 635 became casual-ties in just seven minutes of fi ghting at the Battle of Petersburg. A North Carolina regi-ment saw 714 of its 800 soldiers killed at Gettysburg. At such a time, these boys put down their drums and took up whatever rifl e was handy. One such drummer was Johnny Clem.

Clem ran away from home in 1861 when he was eleven years old. He enlisted, and the Twenty-second Michigan Regiment took him in as their drummer, paying him thir-teen dollars a month for his services. Several months later, at the Battle of Shiloh, Clem earned the nickname of “Johnny Shiloh”

when a piece of cannon shell bounced off a tree stump and destroyed his drum. When another drum was shattered in battle, Clem found a musket and fought bravely for the rest of the war, becoming a sergeant3 in the fall of 1863. B

Th e Civil War would be the last time drummer boys would be used in battle. Th e roar of big cannons and mortars, the rapid fi ring of thousands of rifl es, and the shouts of tens of thousands of men made hearing a drumbeat diffi cult. More and

B Reading Focus Comparing Treatments How does

the treatment of the Battle of Shiloh in this piece compare to its

treatment in the encyclopedia entry and Data Bank?

3. sergeant (SAHR juhnt): noncommissioned offi cer in the military.

Drummer boys of the

61st New York Infantry,

March 1863.

Drumbeats and Bullets 551

Viewing and Interpreting How might these

drummers be setting a good example for the troops?

Analyzing Visuals

more, bugles were being used to pass along orders. Military tactics were changing, too. Improved weapons made it impractical to have precise lines of soldiers face their enemy at close range. Instead, smaller, fast-moving units and trench warfare, neither of which required drummers, became popular.

Even as their role in the fi ghting was changing, Civil War drummers stayed at their positions signaling orders to the troops. Hundreds were killed and thou-sands more wounded. “A cannon ball came bouncing across the corn fi eld,” a drummer

boy recalled, “kicking up dirt and dust each time it struck the earth. Many of the men in our company took shelter behind a stone wall, but I stood where I was and never stopped drumming. An offi cer came by on horseback and chastised the men, saying ‘this boy puts you all to shame. Get up and move forward.’ We all began moving across the cornfi eld. . . . Even when the fi ghting was at its fi ercest and I was fright-ened, I stood straight and did as I was ordered. . . . I felt I had to be a good example for the others.” C

C Read and Discuss What is all this saying?

Members of the drum corps of the 93rd New

York Infantry Regiment, August 1863.

552 Unit 2 • Collection 5

Respond and Think CriticallyTh e Battle of Shiloh /Drumbeats and Bullets

1. What would be the MOST severe problem facing a unit that lost its drummer? A The soldiers would not know when to get

up in the morning. B The unit would have to recruit more boys. C There would be no one to carry water and

cook for the soldiers. D The soldiers would not know when to

maneuver in battle.

Read with a Purpose 2. What information did you learn about the

Civil War that was new or surprising? 3. What role did the drummer boys play during

battle?

Reading Skills: Comparing Treatments 4. Review your chart comparing the selections.

How are they similar and diff erent?

SelectionsSelections Treatment of TopicTreatment of Topic

“The Battle of “The Battle of Shiloh”Shiloh”

Types of details: facts, sta-tisticsHow details are presented: summary of battle

“Drumbeats “Drumbeats and Bullets”and Bullets”

Types of details: How details are presented:

Literary Analysis 6. Draw Conclusions The Battle of Shiloh was

the bloodiest to that point in the Civil War. What does this detail suggest about future battles during the Civil War?

7. Make Judgments How did these young drummers come to fi ght in the war? Support your answer with details from the text.

Literary Skills: Historical Fiction 8. Make a list of fi ve facts about the Civil War

that could form the basis for a fi ctional story. Explain briefl y why you chose these facts as inspiration for a piece of historical fi ction.

Th ink as a Reader/WriterUse It in Your Writing Did you notice that the encyclopedia entry has long sentences packed with information? Jim Murphy, on the other hand, uses short sentences with bite-sized bits of infor-mation. Write a paragraph on what you’ve learned about the Civil War, paying attention to how you impart your facts. Which style will you use?

Vocabulary CheckFill in the blanks with the correct Vocabulary word.

vital intensifi ed

5. As the battle , the role of the drum-mer boys became .

Sunshine State Standards: Benchmarks LA.8.1.6.1 use new vocabulary

that is introduced and taught directly; LA.8.1.7.3 determine the main idea or essential message in grade-level or higher texts through inferring, paraphrasing, summarizing, and identifying relevant details; Also covered LA.8.1.7.6; LA.8.3.1.1; LA.8.3.2.3

Applying Your Skills 553