American Historical Ephemera and Photography

15 1/2 height; 17 in. diameter painted wooden snare drum (some surface wear), with hoops painted red, white, and blue, two drumheads (one appears to be original, the other may be a modern replacement), rope tension construction with 9 (of 10) leather braces (leather worn, some with loss).

One side of the shell features a hand-painted portrayal of a regiment of Union Zouave troops on the attack. The dramatic scene is flanked by American flags, with the name of the manufacturer included below, "C.H. Eisenbrandt, No. 78 Balt. St., Baltimore, Md." In addition to the hand-painted elements, the shell includes 59 tarnished brass star tacks (5 of them missing their heads) at the seam and surrounding the vent hole. Note the nickel-plated brass hooks that connect the drum's two hoops via the ropes, which are well documented in drums of the 1850s and 1860s. It is possible that the brass hooks were produced by William Boucher, Jr., a drum maker and musical instrument dealer whose establishment was also located on Baltimore St., in close proximity to Eisenbrandt's business.

Inspired by the precision marching of militia companies like Colonel Elmer Ellsworth’s “Zouave Cadets,” which toured widely in the late 1850s, a number of Civil War regiments from both sides adopted the distinctive North-African-inspired Zouave uniform. This typically included baggy trousers, open-front jackets, and sometimes even fez-style caps. Their bold appearance made Zouaves a favorite subject for artists of the time as evidenced by the remarkable Civil War-period hand-painted drum presented here.