In 1775 the drum purchased by the citizens of Lexington, Massachusetts for 16-year-old William Diamond, achieved a special place in the history of the United States of America when William used it to call the Minutemen onto Lexington’s green in the overture to the shot heard round the world. Almost 100 years later, 12-year-old Johnny Clem was immortalized as “The drummer Boy of Shiloh” after his exploits during one of the seminal battles of the Civil War.
There is truth and fiction in these stories, but …