Twelve-year-old Charley Olson feels that President Abraham Lincoln’s 1861 call for volunteers is a personal appeal to him. Defying his family, he joins the First Minnesota Regiment as a drummer boy. His new friend Gunnar is given the responsibility of carrying the regimental flag. Nothing has prepared the volunteers for their first experience of battle against the Confederates at First Manassas (Bull Run). For Charley and Gunnar the situation is even more frightening. Their hands occupied with drum and flag, neither one is able to defend himself against enemy fire.
As word filters back that Bull Run has been sighted, Charley beats the double-quick tempo and they march proudly into the valley wearing red shirts. An officer shouts, “Forward to Buck Hill.” Men in red shirts burst from the woods -- are they Union or Confederate? The Minnesotans hold their fire, only to discover that muskets are aimed at them. Gunnar must try to save the colors, and Charley must overcome his own fear while setting the cadence for the men. As the chaos of the first major battle of the Civil War erupts around them, Charley shows courage and maturity under fire.
