Children Helped America Win the Revolutionary War

The Revolutionary War is also called the War of Independence. Americans fought this war against the British. They wanted to be free from British rule. They wanted to govern, or rule, themselves.

The Revolutionary War was unique. There were not nearly as many people living in America at the time. Most people either lived in one of a few cities, such as Boston and Philadelphia. Or else, they lived on farms that were far apart from each other. No matter where they lived, the war could not have been won without everyone’s help. This included the women and children.

Both women and children played important roles in the Revolutionary War. Some women pretended to be men in order to become soldiers. But more women served as spies or as nurses. Children, too, did their part. Unfortunately, their stories were not written down as often as the stories about the men. One famous job for young boys was that of the drummer boy. One reason for this is because of a famous painting called “Steady the Drums and Fifes.” Another reason for this is probably because of the popular Christmas song “Little Drummer Boy.” Even if you don’t celebrate the holiday, you might hear the song played in public places like stores and malls before that holiday.

Drummer boys (and adults) worked on the battlefield in the middle of a battle. They carried no guns and wore no protection. The drummer’s job was to relay instructions from the commanding officer to the troops. During the Revolutionary War, there were no walkie-talkies or phones. A person’s voice could not be heard well above the loud noises on the battlefield. Only the drums or the fife—a small flute—could be heard above the noise. More importantly, the drums and fife could be heard at great distances. Different drumbeats meant different things. The drums (and the fife) were used to tell troops how and where to turn, when to attack, and when to retreat. The drummers and fifes worked together to instruct the troops.

Drummer boys were in grave danger on the battlefield. They stood in the middle of the battle along with the soldiers. But they had nothing to fight with except their drumsticks. They had no protection from flying bullets or enemy swords. They saw soldiers fighting and getting hurt all around them. It was a scary place for a person of any age to be standing. Drummer boys must have been exceptionally brave.

Some experts say that more boys were fifers than drummers during the Revolutionary War. But there appear to be more recorded tales about drummer boys. The youngest recorded Revolutionary War drummer boy was Nathan Futrell. He joined the army in North Carolina as a drummer boy when he was seven years old.

The jobs of the drummers and fifers were important to the Revolutionary Army. These young musicians didn’t only direct soldiers in battle. They helped regulate army camp life. They played one tune in the morning to wake the soldiers up. They played different tunes to tell the soldiers when it was time for each meal. They also played a tune in the evening to tell the soldiers when it was time to go to sleep.

Half of the musicians in the Revolutionary Army were children, aged 17 and younger. There could have been more than half that because children often lied about their age to get into the army. Children younger than 18 were so eager to help fight for their independence, that they pretended to be older so that they could help win the war. So even though there aren’t many stories about children who helped win the war, information about the number of children who worked as musicians tells us that children played an important role in the American Revolution.