The drum this Confederate plays is fifty years old. The Eagle Pattern snare drum he carries — wooden shell with calfskin or sheepskin heads, rope tensioning, the American national eagle painted on the front — was the standard U.S. Army issue from the War of 1812 and the Mexican War, decades before the Civil War began. By 1861 many of these old drums were still in militia armories across the South, sitting with the rest of the prewar Federal kit Southern states had drawn before secession. Confederate regiments raised at those armories took the drums with them. The instrument was loud, simple, and worked. A 1812-era drum could still beat a 1862-era charge. This W. Britain figure depicts a Confederate infantry drummer on the march in regulation gray — gray shell jacket, light gray trousers, dark forage cap, with the cartridge box and belt at his waist. The drum at his hip is the repurposed Eagle Pattern instrument with its War-of-1812-era American eagle still painted on the shell. The drumsticks are held across his shoulders behind his neck — the informal march carry position. The figure works as the audible centerpiece of any Confederate marching column or regimental music ensemble. Pair this figure with Confederate Drummer in Frock Coat for a paired drummer scene; with Confederate Infantry Bugler for the regiment's brass-and-drum field music team; or with Confederate Infantry Company Officer as the officer whose orders the drum translates. Scale: 1/30 (60mm). Matte-painted metal. W. Britain model 31446. From the American Civil War range. Single foot figure with drum, supplied painted and ready for display.
