Carry Me And I'll Drum It Through

But Moses' hands grew weary; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; so his hands were steady until the sun set. - Exodus 17.12

One of the most famous works of art to emerge from the tragedy of America’s Civil War is Truman Howe Bartlett’s bronze, “Carry Me and I’ll Drum it Through.” It depicts a Union soldier, lean, battered, but determined, marching forward into battle. On his shoulder perches a child, a drummer-boy who brandishes his sticks defiantly above his head.

The statue embodies an apocryphal tale from an unknown battle. Both sides in that terrible conflict relied on drum-beats to signal orders to troops in the thick of combat. Where the black-powder fog of musket-fire obscured visual signals and the roar of artillery overwhelmed a commander’s shouts, the staccato taps of dead wood on dried skin conveyed vital information about troop movements. Lives and victory depended on the children who volunteered for this hazardous duty.

According to the story, an infantryman encountered one such lad with a minie-ball wound through his thigh. Though ordered to the rear, the little fellow refused and instead cried to the soldier, “Carry me and I’ll drum it through!”

As Israel’s ranks charged forward to face the Amalekites, Moses understood that conquest depended on good communication. Aloft on the high ground he flourished defiant hands aloft and signaled the army’s needs to the heavenly Commander in Chief. Dried bones in dying flesh beat out the tattoo of intercession. As long as the lines of communication lasted, God’s people drove back their foes. When, wounded with weariness, Moses let his signaling fall silent, confusion swept the ranks. Rather than fall back and seek rest, the mighty prophet turned to his seconds, Aaron and Hur, and pled, in essence, “Carry me and I’ll drum it through!”

For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, Paul warns the Ephesians, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Eph 6.12) In this ceaseless struggle the smoke of forgetfulness overwhelms memory and the roar of conflicting voices confuses advice. Victory ultimately rests on reinforcements from Headquarters and the spiritual battle wearies our fainting flesh. In such moments, the wise Christian turns to her sisters and pleads, not for an excuse, but for assistance. Our Lord never promised victory to the solitary soldier, but to the church - the called-out assembly of mutual fellowship - which can besiege and conquer the very gates of Hell. (Mt 16.18)

Weary with warfare? Retreat means defeat. Instead, turn to those with whom you march in formation and call out, “Carry me and I’ll pray it through!”