A Civil War drummer was a communications system. Each battalion in the Federal infantry carried two drummers per company plus a regimental drum major, and the drumbeats they tapped out — long roll, assembly, advance, retreat, halt, form square, stack arms, sick call, taps — were how a regiment's orders moved through a thousand men in line of battle when no commander could be heard above the musket fire. Drummers were trained at the recruit depot to play the regulation calls. Many were teenagers. They marched with the regimental colors at the center of the line and were primary targets like the color guard. The 146th New York's drummers carried the regiment's drum calls through the Wilderness and Cold Harbor.

This W. Britain figure depicts a 146th New York drummer in full Zouave kit — red fez with yellow tassel, sky-blue jacket with yellow soutache decoration on the chest, white cross-belt, baggy sky-blue trousers, white gaiters above black shoes. The side drum is slung on his right hip on the regulation drum sling. He is caught mid-stride, drumsticks at the ready position. Drummers in a Zouave regiment were as visible as the rest of the regiment — and as targeted. The figure adds movement and noise to any 146th NY diorama, anchoring a marching column or a regimental front in cadence. Pair this figure with 146th NY Zouave Standing Firing No.1, the regiment's firing line; with 146th NY Zouave Officer, the commander whose orders the drummer would translate; or with Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, the commanding general whose Overland Campaign the regiment fought through.

Scale: 1/30 (60mm). Matte-painted metal. W. Britain model 31306. From the American Civil War range. Single foot figure, supplied painted and ready for display.