31167
W. Britain
The sound of the drums moved troops into place, therefore each drummer
was required to learn dozens of rudiments and drum calls. Each call
would tell the soldiers that they were required to perform a specific
task or assemble into a precise formation. The responsibility of
the drummer put them in the forefront of any action until the firing
lines were established, after which they generally moved to the rear.
However, they could be called upon during the fighting to evacuate the
wounded. Drums were often decorated with the unit’s insignia, coats of
arms, or national symbols. But this soldier’s drum is far more pragmatic
lacking any such ostentatious display.
In the late fall of 1862, Union General Ambrose Burnside was under intense pressure to do something, anything – President Lincoln, senior Union commanders and leaders, and the Northern public wanted action from their Army of the Potomac. This urgent call to action would come crashing up against the most fateful consequences in a little Virginia town called Fredericksburg on December 13, 1862. Launching a two pronged assault on the well-defended Confederate lines Burnside’s frontal assault on Marye’s Heights and flanking attack on Confederate General Jackson’s Troops led to almost 13,000 Union casualties and accomplished nothing. So much for action at any cost.
This new range of figures captures the brave Union troops in their kersey blue overcoats and Confederate defenders in a hodgepodge of winter clothing. Also included in this release are sections of the famous sunken road stonewall that the Confederate troops were able to use to their advantage in repulsing the Union assault waves at Marye’s Heights.