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-- 1 — ■■■ ■ lt;— — —- ... —Uixiorv S aved bv Armyof SchoolboysNearly 1,000,000Soldiers Who Served in Federal ArmuWereUnder 16 Years of AgeHE FACT that the draft law under which the Untted States is now raising its armies placed the minimum 'age of men to be Included In the draft at twenty-one years has called attention to the extreme youth of tbe men who made up the forces that fought and won the Civil war.It may truthfully* be said that the war was won by an army of school' boys. The younger generation probably is not a warp of the fact that nearly a mil lion of those Who carried muskets on behalf of the Federal cause were less than sixteen years of age when they enlisted. Statistics show that there were exactly 844,801 boys under that age in the Federal army. There were 1,151,438 under eighteen years of age, and. of the total enlistments of 2,778,309 there were 2,159,798 under twenty-one years of age.Not only were the great majority of privates less than twenty-one years of age, but the records show that companies, regiments and brigades were commanded literally by schoolboys. At the close of the war, it is said, it was the exception to find a brigade or division commander who was more than thirty years old.Brig. Gen. John L. Clem is generally credited with being the youngest soldier on record. He was born in Newark, O., August 13, 1851. He was not Quite ten years old when he entered the volunteer service as a drummer at the beginning of the war. Two years later, when he was still not Quite twelve years old, he vas regularly enlisted and took his place in the ranks. He was made a sergeant for bravery displayed in the battle of Chlekamauga and served until the close of the war. He returned to school when the war ended and graduated from the Newark high school. In 1871 he was appointed a second lieutenant in the regular army and remained in tbe regular service until 1915, when he was retired with the rank of brigadier general.Among the heroes who were awarded the eon-gresional medal of honor for valOMhown upon the field of battle there were many who were mere children. A veteran officer of the Federal army, writing In the Philadelphia Public Ledger, recalled Bozne Interesting history connected with some of these youthful heroes. The writer gave the following account of some of these unusual coses: “Robinson B. Murphy was born May 11, 1849. He enlisted as musician at the beginning of the war and the official statement of the action for Which he gained his congress medal reads:“ ‘At Atlanta, Ga., July 28, 1864, being orderly to the brigade commander, he voluntarily led two regiments as re-enforcements into line of battle, where he had his horse shot from under him/“He enlisted August 6,1862, ut the age of twelve years, two months and twenty-four days, in the One Huudred Twenty-seventh Illinois Volunteer infautry, and was made orderly to the colonel of the regiment. In January, 1864, he was made orderly to Gen. J. A. J. Lightburn, and participated in several hard-fought battles. In the army he was known as ‘Bob/ When he performed the wonderful feat that gained him the medal lie was only fifteen yeurs old. The circumstances under which young Murphy led two regiments into buttle were as follows:“The division iu which General Lightburn coni-mahdeii was that day on the-extreme right of the army, which was being flanked by the enemy. Young Murphy was sent to the right by his general to- find out the situation? and finding that the enemy had flanked the right wing and was driving them, he rode on his pony down the Une and met General Logan, who commanded that day, and begged him with tears in his eyes for re-enforcements, telling him they were cutting our right all to pieces. The general replied: T have ordered re-enforcements from the left, and here they come now, and If you know where they are needed, Bob, ahow them in/ And that is how he came to lead tho two regiments that day.. General Lightburn wrote regarding Bob that he was ‘uot only brave and faithful, but displayed remurkable judgment for one of his age, as I soon found out I could depend on him under any circumstances thut might arise/“And here la another very little chap who gained hlfl medal, Orton P. Howe, bom December 29, 1848. He enlisted early in the war and was wounded at Vicksburg and three tknefl at Dalles, Ga. His record 1b » brilliant one, and General Sbennuu teila the story In a letter of August 8, 1803 :44 ‘Headquarters Fifteenth Army Corps, Camp on Black River, August 8, 1863.* ‘Hon. E. Stanton, Secretary of War.“ ‘Sir: I take the liberty of asking, through you, that something be done for a lad named Orion P. Howe of Waukegan, ni., who belongs to the Fifty-fifth Illinois, but at present Is home wounded. I think he is too young for West Point, but would be the very thing for a midshipman. When the assault at Vicksburg was at its height, on the 19th of May, and I was In front near the road, which formed my Une of attack, this young lad came up to me, wounded and bleeding, with u good, healthy boy’s cry: “General Sherman, send some cartridges to Colonel Mulmburg; the men are neuriy all out” “What's the matter, my boy?” “They shot me In tbe leg, sir, but I can go to the hospital. Send thePISIIn A| shkinr st. be shormwstwlt;lbStlUI86hiccaat1 RC WPi itst piOrjonPJiowe as a Jo/t//erc«le38DttHmAeroiusiuhUt/aotlGenJtofrrt.L. C/errt, yousrrfrjfon record ^FAFAbifc81Faicartridges right away.” Even where he stood the shot fell thick, and I told hlra to go to the rear at once. I would attend to the cartridges; and off he limped. Just before he disappeared on the hill, he turned and called as loud as he could: “Caliber .54/’ I have not seen the lad since, and his colonel (Malmburg) on inquiry gives me the address above, and says he Is a bright, Intelligent boy, with a fair preliminary education. What arrested my attention then was—and what renewed my memory of the fact now Is—that one so young, carrying a musket-ball through his leg, should have found his way to me on that fatal spot, and delivered his message, not forgetting the very important part of the caliber of his musket, .54, which you know Is an unusual one. I’ll warrant that the boy has inhim tbe elements of a man, and I commend him tothe government as one worth the fostering care of one of the national institutions. I am, with respect,“‘Your obedient servant,“ ‘W. T. SHERMAN,“ ‘Major General Commanding/“When the poet, George H. Boker, learned of the episode of young Howe, he put the story In verse.“John Cook, too, gained a medal of honor when a mere child. He was born In Ohio, August 10,1847, and enlisted in Battery B, Fourth United States artillery, at the breaking out of the war. He was serving as bugler at Antietam, and certainly did enough to merit his medal. The boy distinguishedhimself at Antietam and in every fight in which the command was engaged. Ac Antietam the battery was knocked to pieces, losing about 50 per cent of the men, killed or wounded. Cuptaln Cump-bell fell, severely wounded, and young Cook assisted him to the rear, quickly • returning to the tiring lljne, where, seeing nearly all the men down and not enough left to man the guns, the little fellow unstrapped a pouch of ammunition from the body of a dead gunner who was lying near one of the caissons, ran forward with It and acted as gunner until the end of the fight.“J. C. Julius Laugbeln was a very small boy, indeed, when at the battle of Camden, North Carolina, April 15, 1862, he won his congress medal. The official record states that ‘when a drummer boy, he voluntarily and under a heavy tire went to the aid of a wounded officer, procured medical aid for him and aided In carrying liim to a place of safety/ After tlje battle he was granted a short leave of absence to visit his parents, and what a thrill of happiness the boy must have felt when he handed his mother a commendatory letter from his company commander.“And here is another boy who wears the congress medal of*honor, nobly won: George D. Sid-man, a schoolboy from Michigan, a mere child in years, when he made his great record and won the medal for ‘distinguished bravery in battle at Gaines Mills, June 27, 1862/ This battle, the second of the ‘Seven Days* Battles* before Richmond, was one of the most disastrous battles of the Civil war, whereto Fitz John Porter’s Fifth army corpswas pitted against the three arn^ corps of Generals Longstreet, Hill and ‘Stonewall* Jackson.“Brig. Gen. Daniel Butterfield’s brigade, composed of the Twelfth, Seventeenth and Forty-fourth New York, the Eighty-third Pennsylvania and Sixteenth Michigan Volunteer Infantry regiments, that day occupied the left line of battle In the form of a curve, with the Sixteenth and Eighty-third on the extreme left and resting on the border of Cblckahominy swamp. Here tho brigade was called upon to resist several desperate charges of the enemy during the day, which. In every Instance, resulted in defeat of the attacking forces.“It was in this ‘forlorn hope’ rally that Sidman, then a youth of seventeen, serving in tho ranks of Company C, Sixteenth Michigan, as a private, but borno on the rolls of his company as a drummer boy, distinguished himself by waving his gun and culling upon his comrades to rally on tho colors aa he had done, thus setting an examplo that wasspeedily followed by a number of others, and winning the approbation of Major Welch of his regiment. who was » witness of the heroic net. He was in the front rank of the charge back upon the enemy, and In the almost lmml-to-hanil conflict that followed fell severely wounded through the left hip by a minuie ball.“On the morning of December 13,1862, while the Fifth corps was drawn up in line of battle on Stafford heights waiting for orders to cross the Itappn-hanock river and enter Fredericksburg, Colonel Stockton, commanding l he Third brigade, First division, called upon the Sixteenth Michigan for a volunteer to carry the new brigade thig that had just reached the command. SUlmnu, but now partially recovered from his wound, sprang from tho ranks and begged for ibis duty. His patriotism and fidelity to duty, well known to Major Welch, now commanding the regiment, won for him tbe coveted prize, much to the chagrin of several other comrades who viiJJamiy offered their services. Leading Ills brigade on its famous charge up Marye’s heights, In that terrible slaughter under Burnside, he was again wounded, but not so severely qb to prevent him from planting the colors within 150 yards of the enemy’s line, where they remained for 30 hours. Three days later lie proudly bore his flag back across the Rnppahanock, marked by a broken shaft and several boles, caused by the ene- 1 ^ my’s missiles during the charge. • a“It was ia this battle, Sunday, December 14, a 1862, while the brigade lay all day hugging the w ground behind the slight elevation a few yards ; iu front of the enemy, momentarily expecting an j attack, that Sldnmu, with a comrade of his own company, displayed humanity as well as remark- j 0 able valor by running the gauntlet through u rail- ; road cut for canteens of water for the sick and j ” wounded comrades who could not be removed from the lines; this at a time, too, when the enemy’s | sharpshooters were so stationed as to command { the ground a considerable distance In the rear of • ^ the brigade lines. It was this distinguished service j f, of humanity at Fredericksburg, In the face of a j vigilant enemy and with almost certain death staring him in the face, thut prompted Ills officers lu recommending him for the medal of honor. The war department, with a full record knowledge of his service from Gaines Mills to Fredericksburg, and for reasons best known* to Itself, decided that the medal was earned at the first-named battle, with continuing merit to the end of his militury service.- “Perhaps the most dangerous duty that a soldier can be engaged In Is that of scout. In a book published after the war, and called ‘Hampton and His Cavalry/ the following definition of a scout is given :*‘The scouts of the army did not constitute a distinct organization, but suitable men volunteering for this duty were detailed from the different commands. The position required not only coolness, courage, zeal and intelligence, but special faculties born In some few men.*“The line of demarcation between a scout and a spy was at times very Ill-defined, for, as the scouts were usually dressed jn bneniy’s uniforms which they hud captured, they were by strict militury law subject to tbe penalty of spies if taken within the enemy’s lines, and they were not without pleasant experiences of that sort.“Undoubtedly one of the most distinguished ot this clsws was Archibald Hamilton Ilowand, Jr.. who received the medal because of the Indorsement; of General Sheridan, who knew and appreciated his great services to the cause.“Rowaud was born March ti, 1845, in Philadelphia, Pa., and enlisted June 17, ISC2, lu Company K, First West Virginia cavalry, and served until 'August 17, 1865. His services were not only remarkable, but most valuable to the cause. He was i one of the most during and most, trusted of Sheri- j dun’s scouts.“Once, while scouting for Aveflll, he was cap- \ tured. but told such a plausible story to the Confederate officers about being a Confederate scout with verbal orders from one distant general to another that he was allowed to depart. The first time he was detailed on scout duty his two companions were shot and killed. On his next trip his comrade aud Ids own horse were killed when they were 18 miles Inside of the Confederate lines, but Row-and managed to dodge the enemy's bullets and get back alive, vowing at every Jump never to go on scout duty again. He soon recovered from his fright, however, aad started out on another trip. While with Sheridan he was asked to locate the notorious partisan leader, MaJ. Harry GlUuore, and, if possible, effect his capture.“After several days’ hard work he found Gilmore stopping In a large country mansion near Moor-tield, W. Va. This be reported to Sheridan, who sent with him about fifteen scouts under Colonel Young. They dressed In Confederate uniforms and, followed by 800 Federal cavalry at a distance of several miles, to be of assistance in case the true eharucter of the scouts was discovered, they arrived near Gilmore’s command about daybreak, and Rowaud went forward alone and, single-handed, captured the vldette without a shot being fired. The scouts then entered the family mansion and took Gilmore out of bed and back to Sheridan'* headquarter**t
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Akron Register Tribune
Akron, Iowa, US
Thu, May 23, 1918
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