Both the Union and the Confederacy enlisted child soldiers during the bloody US Civil War that lasted from April 12, 1861, to May 9, 1865. Many of the children served with distinction and returned home. Others were not so lucky and paid with their lives. This is a look at 10 notable child soldiers who left an indelible mark on history.
Why These 10 Notable Child Soldiers Matter
Their youthful bravery, tragic ends, and extraordinary feats illustrate how even the youngest could shape the outcome of a nation‑splitting conflict.
10 Edwin Francis Jemison
The iconic photograph of Confederate Private Edwin Francis Jemison remains one of the most recognizable images of the Civil War. He entered the world on December 4, 1844, and signed up with the 2nd Louisiana Infantry in May 1861 at the age of 16. The picture that immortalized him was taken shortly after he joined the ranks.
Jemison first faced Union troops in April 1862 during the clash at Dam No. 1 in Virginia. His second encounter came a few months later, on July 1, 1862, at the Battle of Malvern Hill, which held the record for the deadliest engagement until the Battle of Antietam eclipsed it.
The Confederates suffered roughly 5,500 casualties at Malvern Hill, while Union losses were about half that number. Jemison’s life was cut short when a cannonball struck him as he surged toward the enemy lines. He was just five months shy of his 18th birthday.
9 John Lincoln Clem
Born John Joseph Klem, he later adopted the middle name Lincoln out of admiration for President Abraham Lincoln. In 1861, at just ten years old, John slipped away from home to enlist as a drummer with the 3rd Ohio. The regiment turned him away for being underage, prompting him to try the 22nd Michigan, which also rejected him for the same reason.
Undeterred, John attached himself to the 22nd Michigan, eventually being embraced as a mascot and unofficial drummer, though formal enlistment didn’t occur until 1862.
During the September 1863 Battle of Chickamauga, John swapped his drum for a musket, and three bullets punctured his hat. While separated from his unit, a Confederate colonel chased him and demanded surrender. John refused, shooting the colonel dead; the officer had derisively called him a “Yankee Devil.” This daring act earned him a promotion and the nickname “The Drummer Boy of Chickamauga.” He was discharged in 1864, rejoined in 1871 as a second lieutenant, and retired as a brigadier general in 1915.
8 Elisha Stockwell
Elisha Stockwell first answered a Union recruitment drive in Jackson County, Wisconsin, when he was 15. His father objected, prompting the recruiters to cross his name off the rolls.
Refusing to be deterred, Elisha ran away with a Union soldier who was a family friend and on leave. Before departing, he told his sister he was heading downtown; she reminded him to return early for supper. Two years later, he did just that.
During his second enlistment, Elisha claimed he couldn’t recall his exact age but guessed he was 18. The recruiter, aware he was younger, nevertheless recorded his age as 18 and listed his height as 165 cm (5 ft 5 in)—a stature he wouldn’t actually reach for another two years.
Elisha’s first encounter with death came at the 1862 Battle of Shiloh, where he stumbled upon a disemboweled soldier slumped against a tree, an experience that left him “deadly sick.” He also participated in a downhill charge toward Confederate lines; when the assault was called off, roughly half of his comrades lay dead or wounded.
That harrowing experience taught Elisha that running away from home was folly, as war was no child’s play. After the war, he discovered that only three of the 32 men and boys from his hometown who had left for battle survived.
7 William Johnston
William Johnston holds the distinction of being the youngest Medal of Honor recipient. Born in July 1850, he enlisted with the 3rd Vermont Infantry as a drummer in May 1862.
He fought in the “Seven Days” campaign (June 25 – July 1, 1862), during which his unit was forced to retreat under the pressure of Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s forces. As Union troops fell back, many abandoned their weapons and drums.
William, however, clung to his drum, and when the entire division assembled for an Independence Day parade on July 4, he performed for the whole formation. President Abraham Lincoln was so impressed by his determination that he awarded William the Medal of Honor. At just 13, he remains the youngest recipient to date.
6 John Cook
John Cook signed up as a bugler with the 4th United States Artillery at age 15. He saw action at the brutal Battle of Antietam, where his battery was assaulted by Confederate infantry.
The first wave of the Confederate attack left about 17 of his comrades wounded or dead, including the battery’s commander, Captain Campbell, whose horse was killed. As survivors attempted to retreat, John managed to pull the wounded captain to safety before taking control of a cannon himself.
He was soon joined by Brigadier General Gibbon, who personally loaded and fired the cannon alongside him. The Confederates launched three attempts to seize the artillery; the third brought them within a terrifying 3‑5 meters (10‑15 ft) of the guns.
When the fighting ended, the battery had suffered 44 men and 40 horses killed or wounded. John Cook’s bravery earned him the Medal of Honor, making him the youngest artilleryman ever to receive the award.
5 Robert Henry Hendershot
Robert Henry Hendershot was ten when he joined the Union’s 9th Michigan Infantry as a volunteer drummer in 1861. Though a mischievous youngster who often quarreled with his mother and tossed fruit at passing train passengers, he took the drumming role seriously.
He wasn’t formally accepted until March 1862. From that point onward, his wartime accounts wavered between truth, embellished truth, and outright fabrication.
He claimed to have slain a Confederate colonel during a siege at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, after which he was captured and later exchanged. He reenlisted with the 8th Michigan under the name Robert Henry Henderson on August 19, 1862, but somehow ended up in the 7th Michigan, where he asserted he forced a Confederate soldier’s surrender at the Battle of Fredericksburg.
In August 1891, veterans of the 7th Michigan disputed his presence at Fredericksburg, stripping him of the title “The Drummer Boy of the Rappahannock” and suggesting the honor belonged to John T. Spillaine or Thomas Robinson. The 8th Michigan later claimed the title belonged to Charles Gardner. Ultimately, prominent figures—including President Lincoln and General Ulysses S. Grant—intervened, restoring Robert’s title.
4 Charles Edwin King
Charles Edwin King holds the grim record of being the youngest fatality of the Civil War. Born on April 4, 1849, he enlisted as a drummer with the Union’s 49th Pennsylvania Volunteers on September 12, 1861, at the tender age of 12. Though his father opposed the enlistment, he relented after Captain Benjamin Sweeney promised to keep Charlie away from the front lines.
Charlie’s first combat experience came at the Battle of Williamsburg, where Union forces were routed from the Virginia Peninsula by Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s troops. He saw action again on September 17, 1862, at the Battle of Antietam—the bloodiest single day of the war.
Estimates suggest the battle claimed at least 22,720 lives: roughly 12,400 Confederate and 10,320 Union casualties, not counting civilians who later died of disease or the 6,300 soldiers who fell in the prelude three days earlier.
During the Antietam engagement, Charlie was seriously wounded when shrapnel from a Confederate shell exploded near the rear lines, tearing through his body. He lingered for three days before succumbing to his injuries on September 20, 1862, at age 13.
3 Frederick Grant
At age 12, Frederick Grant, the son of Union General Ulysses S. Grant, followed his father into the war. He set up camp in his father’s tent, received his own horse and uniform, yet General Grant barred him from front‑line exposure. Still, Frederick defied the restriction, venturing onto the battlefield until a Confederate soldier wounded him in the leg.
Frederick’s lowest point came during the Battle of Port Gibson, where Union forces suffered 131 dead and 719 wounded. He helped collect the fallen bodies after the fighting, an experience that made him ill, prompting him to assist other soldiers in transporting the wounded to a makeshift hospital. The sight inside the hospital—rows of amputated limbs— horrified him, and he retreated to sit beneath a tree, shaken by the gruesome scene.
2 Edward Black
Edward Black enlisted as a drummer with the 21st Indiana Infantry at the astonishing age of eight, making him the youngest person ever to serve in the United States Armed Forces. Drummers were constantly at the front, using their instruments to signal commands, which also made them prime targets for enemy troops seeking to disrupt unit cohesion.
Edward was captured during the Battle of Baton Rouge and imprisoned on an island in the Gulf of Mexico. He regained his freedom when Union forces seized the island and the nearby city of New Orleans.
After President Lincoln banned child soldiers in 1862, Edward was discharged and returned to Indianapolis with his drum. The trauma and injuries he endured during the war likely contributed to his premature death at age 18. His drum now resides at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, where it is one of the museum’s most treasured artifacts.
1 Abel Sheeks
Abel Sheeks fled his Alabama home at 16 to join the Confederate Army. Short on uniforms, he initially wore a blue shirt and trousers—clothing that resembled Union uniforms—until a fellow soldier asked if he wanted to risk being mistaken for an enemy.
After each skirmish, Abel scavenged the battlefield for uniforms belonging to fallen Confederate soldiers his size. Though he despised the practice, necessity left him no alternative, and within weeks he had assembled a proper Confederate uniform.
Training in Confederate camps proved grueling for youngsters. Drills dominated daily life, while opportunities for live‑fire practice were scarce due to limited ammunition, meaning many learned to shoot only amid actual combat.
Union camps were no better. One Union boy, weary of endless drills, suggested “Let’s stop this fooling and go over to the grocery.” The drill sergeant reacted harshly, ordering a corporal to “drill him like hell.”
Oliver Taylor is a freelance writer and bathroom musician. You can reach him at [email protected].