LITTLE DRUMMER BOY

About this project

“Glory” | Civil War Union drummer boy. Painted in Richmond, VA, for @artwhino Richmond Mural Project

Richmond served as the capital of the Confederate States of America during the majority of the Civil War.
The Civil War is sometimes called “The Boys’ War,” because so many soldiers who fought were still in their teens. The rule in the Union Army was that soldiers had to be 18 to join, but many younger boys answered “I’m over 18, sir,” when the recruiter asked.

The youngest boys served as drummers & served very important roles during the Civil War. In the noise and confusion of battle, it was often impossible to hear the officers’ orders, so each order was given a series of drumbeats to represent it. Both soldiers and drummers had to learn which drumroll meant “meet here” ,“attack now”, “retreat” and all the other commands of battlefield and camp.
When the drummer boys weren’t needed for sounding calls, they walked around the battlefield looking for the wounded and brought them to medical care.

In 1865 the city finally fell to Union forces. Confederate troops were ordered to evacuate, destroying bridges and burning supplies they could not carry, with large portions of the city destroyed by fires set during the evacuation. The retreat of the Confederate soldiers marked the beginning of the end of slavery. Lincoln’s ‘Emancipation Proclamation” became effective in ALL states. The proclamation declared “that all persons held as slaves” within the rebellious states “are, and henceforward shall be free.” A special thanks to @artwhino @liquitex_usa @rvamag @bkk_rva and everyone involved.