USCT Drummer Boys
Quote from one of them: "I told my sister I had to go down town. She said, 'Hurry back, for dinner will soon be ready.' But I didn’t get back for two years.”

By Jerilyn James Lee - Drummer boys. They were among the youngest to go war, and some mustered out as USCT "veterans" at the grand old age of 16. Most of them survived the war, as they were typically sent to the rear of the column before a battle began. They performed other duties as well, such as grooming horses, stretcher bearers, cook’s assistants, and message carriers. Many free northern boys ran away from home to join the war, excited to learn of the USCT and march with Black soldiers.

The drummers shown are a young man simply known as "Taylor" of the 78th USCT Infantry, also sometimes listed as “Jackson” of the 79th USCT Infantry (I’ve never found an accurate answer), a young man from Roanoke Island simply listed as "Contraband", and Alexander Johnson and John Gooseberry of the 54th Massachusetts.