Harper's Weekly Text
October 29, 1864,
p. 702 (1-4)
Synopsis
An
army unit adopts a young black boy who wanders into camp one day.
The boy, during an informal interrogation, talks of having stolen
all of his master’s pigeons, then of making his way to Virginia.
The boy also claims to be willing to kill his master, saying that
only then would he be truly free. In time, this feisty fugitive
becomes the unit’s drummer boy, despite the company chaplain’s
belief that he has a habit of stealing. In a heated battle one
day, the boy cries out to the chaplain that he sees his master
and, grabbing a weapon, takes off after him. Following the
battle, the chaplain finds the master and sees that he is dead,
having been stabbed several times. A sergeant comes up to the
chaplain and tells him that the boy is dying, much to the grief of
the entire company. When the chaplain sees the boy, the boy
smiles and says that he is finally free. After his death, the boy
is buried in a grave marked by a board with an epitaph scratched
on it. |
History:
"Scenes at Fredericksburg"
June 11, 1864,
p. 379 (1-4)
Military Background:
"In the Wilderness"
November 5, 1864,
p. 718 (2)
Illustrations:
"The Drummer Boy of Our Regiment"
December 19, 1863,
p. 805 (1-4)
"About the Size of It"
June 25, 1864,
p. 416 (1-2)
"The
Halt"
October 1, 1864,
p. 628 (1-4)
"Abraham Lincoln and the Drummer-Boy"
April 27, 1867,
p. 264 (1-4)
Commentaries:
"The Victory"
May 21, 1864,
p. 322 (1-2)
"Mr. Lincoln and the Drummer Boy"
April 27, 1867,
p. 257 (4)
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