As many as 7000 Union troops passed through Drum Barracks between 1861, when it came into being as Camp Drum, and 1871 when it was deactivated as a military post. Thefirst part of this book is a history of the Drum Barracks. Chapter 1 covers the developments from 1858 through 1861 that brought realization that an army base was needed, and that it should be located in New San Pedro, later to be called Wilmington. Chapter 2 covers the busy years of 1862 through 1871, using information culled from base returns, the monthly reports on activity prepared by regimental adjutants and approved by the various commanders. Chapter 3 relates the slow development of the 60 acres of Barracks property from 1871 to the present residential neighborhood, and the birth of the Drum Barracks Civil War Museum. The second part is a compilation of the quarterly monograph, Drum Beats, published from 1987 to 1991: 1. The California Column; 2. The Great Camel Experiment; 3. Our Ghostly Garrison; 4. Vaqueros en Azul: The First Battalion of Native California Calvary; 5. Old Southern California Forts; 6. Old Arizona Forts; 7. The Thin Blue Line; 8. Hancock the Superb; 9. Phineas Banning; 10. Benjamin D. Wilson: Pioneer of the Pioneers; 11. Colonel James Henry Carleton: First Commander of Drum Barracks; 12. Colonel Jams Freeman Curtis; 13. General and Governor George Stoneman; 14. The Letters of Lieutenant Orlando Lee; 15. Drum Barracks Officers in Arizona; 16. The Saving of Drum Barracks.