Alexander H. Johnson: “The Original Drummer Boy”

Many believed that Alexander H. Johnson was the first black musician to enlist in the army during the Civil War, however, he was not really the first. Technically, at least three others have enlisted before he did.

A sailor with a passion for percussion, Johnson grew up in New Bedford, Massachusetts. For unknown reasons he was separated from his parents before his fifth birthday, and he was adopted by William Henry Johnson, the second black lawyer in the United States. Johnson’s original surname was Howard and his mother was a Perry.

It is believed that William Henry Johnson’s pro-military attitude most likely influenced Alexander’s decision to enlist as a drummer boy in the 54th Massachusetts Infantry at the age of 16. Robert Gould Shaw, the colonel and commander of the 54th, referred to Johnson as the “original drummer boy.”

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