Spring 25 In Focus
Library of Congress
Although this image is titled “Drummer boys off duty, playing cards in camp,” the only individual who appears young enough to fit the role of drummer boy is the youth who rests his left arm on the shoulder of the young soldier next to him. An unknown photographer happened on this sunny scene, probably somewhere in Virginia in the winter of 1862, of a couple of noncommissioned officers sitting outside their winter quarters playing cards to while away the long idle times between engagements. The tabletop was probably liberated from a nearby farm, perhaps along with the hinged door, but the colorfully decorated drum puts the focus on the boy (or boys). The makeshift table has branches for legs.
The ingenuity of the soldiers is reflected, too, in their quarters created from logs and canvas with mud for mortar. A single log near the top of the structure may have been for extra support, or to help in opening the canvas roof to sunlight. A corner of a bed or mattress is visible in the doorway, elevated slightly off the ground. The soldier at left stands ready with an ax to do more chopping.
Bob Zeller is president of the nonprofit Center for Civil War Photography, which is devoted to collecting, preserving, and digitizing Civil War images.
