Historically, field drummers played the army drums used on the battlefield. Not only were they used for the men to march in step, but they were also an important part of the battlefield communications system, as various drum rolls signaled different commands from officers to troops. In the 18th century, most Western armies had a standardized set of marches and signals to be played, which were often accompanied by battlefield fifers.
These three young Fort Hamilton drummers of the Confederate army pose in their uniforms sometime in 1863, by then these boys were veterans of nine battles.
Harriet Tubman
Born into slavery, Tubman escaped and subsequently made at least thirteen missions to rescue approximately seventy enslaved people, including some of her family and friends, using the network coined the Underground Railroad.
During the Civil War, she served as an armed scout and spy for the Union Army. In her later years, Tubman served as an activist in the struggle for women's rights.
The Anaconda Plan
This military strategy proposed by Union General Winfield Scott early in the Civil War aimed to strangle the South via Union land and naval forces. It aided the Union's victory of the Civil War.
The plan had two main objectives: to build a naval blockade of the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico ports that were then controlled by the Confederacy and to transport 60,000 Union troops in 40 steam means of transport down the Mississippi River. They would also capture and hold forts and towns along the route.
The Field Band of the 2nd Rhode Island Infantry
Because music played a big role on both sides of the conflict, drummers played an important role in the American Civil War. Besides instruments issuing marching orders, they were also used for recreation and to boost the morale of the troops.
Whenever the opposing armies faced each other, the field bands from both sides would often play against each other on the night before a battle.
Little Johnny Clem
Drummer boy, Johnny Clem, was the youngest Union Army soldier to kill a man. Legend has it that during battle, he put down his drum, picked up a rifle, and shot a Confederate officer. This picture was taken circa 1863-1865.
Despite being captured and held prisoner by Confederate soldiers, he survived the war and even stayed in the American Army afterward. When he left the service in 1915 after serving as a General and the last Civil War soldier still in the army.