Artistic images aside – yet here’s another – consider that the Continental Army did not have the level of funding, support and training that today’s military enjoys.
“Drummer boys” were often children of soldiers already in the army. These boys, as well as the old men and walking wounded who were unfit for hard duty served important functions as cooks, armorers, messengers, gunsmiths, blacksmiths and other camp and support functions.
One of those functions was to play marching tunes to set a cadence as well as to inspire soldiers – or at least take their minds off the tedium of marching for days on end.