Gen. Richard Busteed

[vmicraig]

Hanging outside the Federal District Court Courtroom in Mobile, AL are the photos of all the past and present Judges. I found General Busteed's interesting, As he was the only judge depicted in uniform

 

[Robert Gray]

Hanging outside the Federal District Court Courtroom in Mobile, AL are the photos of all the past and present Judges. I found General Busteed's interesting, As he was the only judge depicted in uniform

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General Busteed and drummer boy. (National Archives)

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

Never saw that image before, thank you! Wonder if the drummer boy a member of his family- and was he really a drummer boy? That's a gigantic drum for such a small kid to haul through an entire war.

 

[DixieRifles]

That's a gigantic drum for such a small kid to haul through an entire war.

Forget the entire war. Try marching 1 mile with that. That drum is so large it would not let him take a normal step with that leg.
I played drums in a marching band in Junior High and High School and that thing could wear you down. Your shoulder would go numb from that strap. I think that was the cause of my problems with my left knee later in life.

 

[BrianB]

Richard Busteed had a son named Richard Jr. The son was born circa September 1855 and died in 1929. So, if the photo above was made late in the war, the son would have been about 8 or 9 years old -- consistent with the age of the boy in the photo. Therefore, I submit that the boy in the photo is General Busteed's son Richard Jr., and not a real military drummer.

 

[magolding]

I have often wondered whether the boy was an enlisted soldier, or a civilian, maybe Busteed's son, dressed as a drummer.

I don't know if he was a soldier or civilian, but I did measure the photo a bit. My head is about 9 inches (22.8 centimeters) tall. The boy wears a cap, but I estimate that he is about 5.5 to 7.33 times as tall as his head, thus making him about 4 feet 1.5 inches (125.7 centimeters) to 5 feet 5.9 inches (167.3 centimeters) tall.

If the drum is the size of a regulation drum it should be about 16 to 18 inches (40.6 to 45.7 centimeters) in diameter Te boy is about2.75 times as tall making him about 3 feet 8 inches (111.7 centimeters) to 4 feet 1.5 inches (125.7 centimeters) tall.

I don't know how tall General Busteed was, but I assume he was between 5 feet 8 inches and 6 feet 2 inches tall. The boy is about 0.68 as tall, or 3 feet 10 inches (117.4 centimeters) to 4 feet 2 inches (127.8 centimeters).

Thus the three height ranges overlap at about 4 feet 1.5 inches (127.5 centimeters).

And that is a very small drummer boy, but there were some that were only 4 feet (121.9 centimeters) tall and even shorter.

A drummer that short could carry the drum slung behind their shoulders when not drumming, and being hollow the drum would probably be lighter than the backpacks many children that size wear to school these days.

Anyway, I thought that I would contribute to the discussion.

Richard Busteeed was a brigadier general in 1862 to 1863, when his son would have been about 7 to 8. And maybe he sometimes wore his uniform later.