The Drums of the Fore and Aft

The main characters (the "Drums" of the title) are Jakin and Lew, a pair of delinquent drummer boys serving with the Regimental Band.

They break and begin to retreat; the young officers of one company try to rally the men but are left behind to be slaughtered by the advancing Ghazi warriors.

The boys, fortified with drink, try to rally the regiment by playing the tune "British Grenadiers" and marching back and forth before the enemy.

The rallied and enraged troops rout the enemy and help win the battle, but are shunned by the rest of the Brigade for their earlier actions.

Illustrations by Archibald Standish Hartrick from the first edition of Soldier Tales (1896), a collected volume of Kipling's stories.