Removing Joint Compound from Brick

I’ve read the numerous posts regarding removing plaster from brick in a brownstone. Many people have expressed concern with this – that it is unnecessary to remove it and that exposed brick is not really appropriate for a 100+ year old brownstone. I completely agree. However, our new brownstone includes a wall that is exposed brick in the front portion and plaster in the rear portion (on the party wall). I have no plans to remove the plaster from the brick. But the front portion of the wall includes brick that was covered by drywall (that looks absolutely terrible). When removing the drywall from the brick it appears that the brick never had any plaster on it to begin with – it is completely free of any remnants of plaster. However, when the drywall was installed it was nailed to the brick and pasted on with scattered patches of joint compound (about 4 or 5 inches in diameter). This was probably done within the last 20 years or so. The joint compound can certainly be removed with a little chipping and the use of a wire brush. My question is… is there a better way to remove it? Is there a wire brush attachment for a drill that I can purchase or is there a way I can possibly wet it to remove it faster?