A little drummer boy wandering from camp gets into the hands of the enemy. He is asked where Napoleon's army is located, but proudly answers that a French soldier is never a traitor. The commander, admiring the boy's pluck, questions him no further. The boy tries to escape, but is caught and brought back again. He hears the officers discussing a plan of attack, and rushes across the camp to a trumpeter, who is sleeping. Seizing a bugle he blows an alarm, which prepares Napoleon's troops for the attack. The little drummer boy, however, is shot. He sees his Emperor, salutes him and falls dead. Bareheaded, Napoleon stoops over the boy and with his own hands places a medal for the highest award of bravery on the breast of the brave boy.
—Moving Picture World synopsis