Just for Kids & Teachers - Nothing To Do?
Nothing to do? ...Make a civil war drum.
During the Civil War, boys under the age of 16
served in both the Union and Confederate (southern) armies. Most of them played
the drum, fife or bugle. Their music woke soldiers in the morning, called them
to breakfast and summoned them to other activities. These boys did other chores
such as cutting hair, carrying water and helping the wounded.
 See It /Hear It - Drum
Cadence
Civil War Reenactor
drummers beat out a cadence
(Audio and video file, 147k)
To play these, you will need RealPlayer.
Get RealPlayer
here.
John Lincoln Clem was the youngest soldier ever
to serve. When he was nine, he tried to join a regiment in his home state of
Ohio. They turned him down. However, he ran away from home and attached himself
to the 22nd Michigan Infantry. The soldiers gave him a drum and chipped in to
pay him a soldier's wages. In April 1862 a shell smashed his drum at the Battle
of Shiloh, and he became known as "Johnny Shiloh."
 Without a drum, he was given a musket cut down to his size.
During the battle, he was separated from his regiment. While caught on the
Confederate side, he wounded a Confederate colonel. Later, the Confederates
captured him and held him prisoner for two months. Eventually, they set him
free.
John Lincoln Clem made the army his
career. He retired as a major general at age 65 in 1916. He was the last man
active in the armed forces who had fought in the Civil War. He died in Texas in
1937 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., with
full military honors.
Directions for
Making a Civil War Drum
Drums are
among the oldest of instruments. They can be found in all countries and cultures
throughout history. Drums come in all shapes, sizes and materials of
construction. They have been used to send messages, to worship and to accompany
singing and dancing.
A drum's
sound is created by striking the head, which is stretched over a shell or frame.
The head vibrates and pushes air through the shell which resonates and amplifies
(makes louder) the sound. Drums are struck with sticks, mallets, or hands. Each
creates a different quality of sound.
Here
are the directions for making your own drum.
- Find a
Container
You can use
any one of a number of different kinds of containers at home such as an oatmeal
box, coffee can, salt box or small nut can. Remove the top and bottom of the can
or box. 
- Draw a
Design for the Outside of Your Drum
Take a piece of paper and cut it
so you can wrap it
around the container.
Make your
own design on the paper with crayons, paints, chalk or colored pencils.
 Then tape or glue your picture
around the
container.
- Make the
Top and Bottom
- Use
material such as canvas, heavy paper, rubber inner tube or leather.
- Cut two
pieces of the material that are a little larger
than the top and bottom of
the container.
- Tie the two
pieces of material around the top and bottom of the container with two
shoestrings, pieces
of string, yarn or rubber band.
- Drumsticks
To beat the
drum, use your hands or such items as dowel rods or pencils. 
- Drums
When you
finish making your drum, it could look like one of these:
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