by Rower Girl

Created on: June 13, 2009   Last Updated: June 17, 2009

Life for soldiers during the Civil War was gruesome. Each and every one was witness to friends and enemies dying from battle wounds or from horrifying bouts of disease. When they enlisted in the war, soldiers carried the expectation that they might not make it home again when the war ended. Yet, the ones who had some of the more psychologically scarring tasks during this time were often the youngest soldiers, and they had a special title reserved just for them: the drummer boys.

The drummer boys were young, innocent, and vulnerable. Most never actually enlisted, whether on the Confederate or Union side, with a full idea as to the extent of their duties and at first were just musicians. Most had no prior musical experience but because they needed to be able to play any piece, at any moment in time, both in and out of battle, the drummer boys practiced constantly and very quickly became decent musicians. According to the diary of William Bircher, a Union drummer boy, at the time of his enlistment with the 2nd Minnesota Infantry, he was too young (under 15) and too small to become a soldier, but when the need for a drummer boy arose in the army, he happily agreed. At least 100,000 drummer boys, fifers, and buglers (horn blowers) enlisted in the Union Army alone.

The daily lives of drummer boys of either the Confederacy or Union did not vary much from day-to-day. Most rose early enough with the fifers and buglers to play pieces like the Assembly of the Buglers which alerted the soldiers that it was time to start their day. Throughout the day drummer boys were anything but idle. They were the ones who had to assemble soldiers for drills, for watering their horses, and for meal times. The boys often became bored with the constant sound of the instruments, so much so, that one boy came up with a song about it that says, I am sick of the fife, more sick of the drum. Aside from their namesake, drummer boys did much more than simply play drums all day. Some built roads at camp, sorted mail, dug trenches, and assisted with medical procedures. In their spare time, boys often played cards, wrote home, and played other games with their fellow musicians and soldiers. To end the day came the sound of Extinguish Lights and all camps went quiet.

Although they were young, drummer boys had a great deal of responsibility and served a major purpose in the Civil War. When it came to battle was when these boys mattered most. Chaos and extremely loud noise were characteristic of

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