Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1901-11-11
The Drummer.

i, ! feet, the thunder or cannon. the rattle
OF muSketry. the shouts aud hurT=lhs oil
the men. and. above all, the rub-a-dub
dub. the rub-a-dub-dub of the dI1lm. il
sent the cold shivers down our blacks
the blood jumping through ourIvelns
Then came the slow and solemn beat
of the mufffed drum, the long. .melan
: choly, almost human. roll. and we
knew that the battle was over and that
the dead were being laid away TO their
last rest. The tears in our eyes, 4
choking I'm our throats. and then
They dressed me up in sojer clothes,
They treated me kindly,
| And vet ] never could forget
The girl left behind me.
1t was II sad day for the battery, and
particularly for DuInpey. when the
Junior lieutenant left our post by trans
fer. The very next day Dumpey was
IN the guardhouse with charges against
him for drunkenness. Intercession prov
ed of no avail-the captain was deter
mined to make an example of him-but
the court was lenient; so after Il
months confinement Dumpey came
back to us, but an altered man. Not
that his manner had changed toward
us--he was still our friend-but his
boyishness and lightness of heart
seemed gone.
Hell get me yet" was all he said
when we asked him the trouble. He"
of course. meant the captain. who for
some unaccountable reason had taken
strong dislike To the lowly drummer.
Things wentfrOm bad to worse. Dunn
pey was in the guardhouse continual
ly. first for one thing and then another,
which, though trivial enough in their
way, We're rapidly building up bad
reputation for him, which lie did lnot
really deserve.
The end came when they found him
drunk Oh guard. The general court
which tried him found him guilty and
sentenced him to he drummed out of
the service. The colonel wrote to the
reviewing authority rather strongly in
his favor. but Dumpey was doomed.
Nothing could save him. and the sen
tence was duly confirmed.
| Never did sun shine brighter. never
were skies bluer, never was nature
more generous than on that dreadful
May morning. We had all heen to see
Dumpey ut tine guardhouse 1he night
before. We had shaken hands'with him
and carried him such boyish gifts as
we could TO assure him of our loyalty
and friendship, and he. poor old boy.
had turned his face away from us and
wept like child
1t was the first and only time l had
ever seen II man drummed out of the
service. L can never. again see such a
shocking sight OF mans inhumanjty to
man.
/ was very young boy then: stin
remember that the sun was bright aud
that the skies were blue. / remember
that the air was soft and balmy. / re-
member that the dag. emblem of liber-
~ aud equality. threw out the glory OF
it, stars and stripes straight and strong
to the morning breeze. l remember
that we all stood huddlcd together
waiting -and-then it came.
First the drums and flies. then two
platoonS of men fully armed and equip
ped. their bayOnets flashing and spar
Killing in the sunlight. and between
them Dumpey, with head closely crop
ped and on his back q board marked
''Drunkard."
And still-the sun shone, the skies
were blue and the flag tapped gayly
overhead.
On they came, the drums and flies
playing the "Rogues' March,"
Poor old soldier poor old soldier.
Tarrd and feathered and then drumm'd out
Because he couldn't keep sober.
Our hearts were in our throats. but
we clinched our hands and held our
places like men.
There was no music in the march. 1t |
was simply a wailing and sobbing of |
the drumS-the drums to drum Dunn |
pey out of the service; Dumpey, their |
champion, their hero, their king.
But on they came
Poor old soldier. poor old soldier.
Just as they passed us we heard /
some one ask:
What makes him walk so queer? |
He seems TO be limping."
Every boy there could have told him
that it was the bullet he got at Mission
Ridge, which the doctors had never
been able to take out.
And on they came
Tarr'd and feathered and then drumm'd out.
At last they reached the sally port.
Because he couldn't keep sober
out the flies, and n moment
alter Dumpey stood outside the fort a
free man.
And then this worthless outcast, this
1rummed out drunkard, this limping,
lalting, wounded ex-soldier, who had
played mans part in the bitterest
var the world has ever known, this
drunken Dumpey, halted, quietly took ,
he board marked "Drunkard" off his
back, and, barring his close cropped
read to the morning sun, looked up to-
ward the flag and bravely cried out:
''Three cheers for the stars and
tripesr'
1 have never forgotten it. Please
yod / never will