Confederate Army regulations required drummers to be at least sixteen, but recruiting officers across the South routinely ignored the rule. Boys of twelve and thirteen filled the ranks of regimental field music, and a few as young as ten beat the drum into action — the army needed musicians badly enough that a steady hand and a good ear counted for more than a birth date. On the advance, the drummer beat the long roll: a continuous, accelerating roar that signaled the regiment was committed to the attack. Once the firing line met the enemy, the boys laid their drums down and worked as runners or stretcher bearers under the same fire as the men they had marched in with.

The young drummer strides forward mid-step, snare drum bouncing at his hip, drumsticks raised in his right hand — caught between two beats of the long roll. Gray frock coat trimmed in red musician's piping, matching gray kepi, drum shell slung across his shoulder with red rim hoops and brass tacks. Slot him into a regimental advance diorama between the Confederate Infantry Fifer Marching and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia Flag at Rest, with the Confederate Infantry Officer Marching stepping out ahead of the colors.

W. Britain 31404 Young Confederate Drummer Advancing. 1/30 scale (approximately 60mm), matte-painted metal, single figure on a sculpted groundwork base. Boxed.