America’s Youngest Warriors – Children Who Fought for the US

18. A Kid in the Peninsula Campaign

As Union forces pulled back from the outskirts of Richmond under a series of heavy Confederate attacks, Willie Johnston’s conduct during the retreat won him national fame. Union forces greatly outnumbered their Confederate opponents in the Peninsula Campaign. Under competent leadership, they might have seized Richmond and perhaps ended the Civil War in the summer of 1862. However, they were cursed with the leadership of General George B. McClellan, who was mistakenly convinced that he was greatly outnumbered by Rebel forces. McClellan lost his nerve, and rather than advance and fight aggressively to seize victory, pulled back, convinced that he was about to get swamped by hordes of Confederates at any moment. So in the midst of the unaccustomed heat of a Virginia summer, the Union forces fell back under relentless enemy pressure.

17. The Conscientious Child Drummer Who Hung on to His Drum

As they retreated from Richmond, many weary federal troops grew demoralized and discarded all of their equipment, in order to march unencumbered. Not Willie Johnston: he dutifully hung on to his drum throughout the ordeal, and brought it with him to safety at retreat’s end in Harrison’s Landing. There, as the 3^rd Vermont and other regiments of the division were assembled for a July 4^th parade, it was discovered that young Willie was the only drummer in the entire division who had held on to his drum throughout the retreat. As such, he had the honor of drumming for the whole division that day. A few days later, President Abraham Lincoln attended a parade for the Army of the Potomac, where he heard the tale of the conscientious young drummer. Lincoln wrote Secretary of War Stanton, and recommended that Willie Johnston be awarded a medal.

16. The Youngest Person to Ever Earn the Medal of Honor

Per the president’s wishes, Willie Johnston was decorated with the Medal of Honor on September 16^th, 1863. Thus, at age thirteen, the young Vermonter became the second recipient to receive what became the nation’s highest award for valor. Willie also holds the distinction of being the youngest person ever awarded the nation’s most prestigious decoration – for exploits he had performed when was only eleven-years-old. At the end of his term of service, Willie reenlisted in February of 1864, and remained in uniform until his unit was mustered out in December, 1865. After the war, he worked as a machinist, married, and raised a family of five children. He lived to the ripe old age of 91, before he passed away on September 16^th, 1941 – the 78th anniversary of his September 16^th, 1863, Medal of Honor award.

15. An Eleven-Year-Old Trying to Fight in the Civil War

Gustav Albert Schurmann was born in 1849 in Westphalia, Prussia. The following year his father, a talented musician, fled with his family from revolutionary Europe, emigrated to America, and settled in New York City. As Gustav grew up, his father taught him how to play various musical instruments. After the Confederates fired upon Fort Sumter in 1861, war fever engulfed the country. That spring, eleven-year-old Gustav was working the streets of New York City as a shoeshine boy. Like thousands who swarmed recruiting stations eager to enlist, the young boy was swept up in the excitement and tried to join any regiment that would take him as a drummer boy. His father had volunteered as a musician in the 40^th New York Volunteer Infantry, nicknamed “The Mozart Regiment” because of the high percentage of musicians in its ranks. So young Gustav sought to join that regiment as well.

14. A Child in the Mozart Regiment

The Mozart Regiment initially rejected Gustav Schurmann because of his age and small size. Then Gustav’s father asked the 40^th New York’s colonel to at least hear the boy’s drumming. He was a musical prodigy who took after his father, and the demonstration convinced the regiment’s commander to change his mind and add Gustav to the unit’s muster. The Mozart Regiment served in the Peninsula Campaign, during which Gustav was loaned out to General Kearney for a day as an orderly for a grand review. Impressed by the lad, the general ordered him to gather his gear from his regiment, and assigned him to his headquarters staff as orderly and principal bugler. General Kearney was killed in August, 1862, and his replacement, General Birney, retained Gustav as orderly and bugler. After the Battle of Antietam, the boy was assigned to General Stoneman’s III Corps staff, and promoted to Corps bugler.

13. The Kid Who Saved a General’s Life

After the Battle of Fredericksburg, Gustav Schurmann joined the staff of General Sickles, who promoted the then fourteen-year-old to sergeant for courage under fire. During a grand review of the Army of the Potomac in April, 1863, Gustav caught President Lincoln’s eye, as well as that of the president’s youngest son, Tad. The two children became fast friends, and Gustav was invited to the White House. Granted an extended furlough, he spent a happy period with Tad Lincoln and the president’s family. In the Battle of Chancellorsville, Gustav displayed conspicuous courage, for which he was awarded a medal. Soon thereafter, at the Battle of Gettysburg, he once again exhibited his bravery and coolness under fire when General Sickles’ leg was shattered by a cannonball. Applying a tourniquet to stanch the bleeding, young Gustav helped save the general’s life, and went back with him to the hospital, and thence to Washington.

12. Abraham Lincoln Took a Shine to This Young Warrior

When Gustav Schurmann made it to Washington, President Lincoln figured the boy had already used up to too many of his lives. He ended his Civil War service, and ordered him back home to attend school in preparation for West Point in a few years. During Gustav’s Civil War career, he served as a bugler for five different generals. He saw plenty of action, was recognized for his courage and awarded medals, befriended the president’s youngest son, and was guested at the White House. All in all, a generous dollop of the adventure and excitement the lad had sought when he enlisted. After his discharge, Gustav returned to New York City. Lincoln’s assassination ended his West Point prospects, so he went on with his life. He settled in NYC, worked for the city in various departments, married, and raised a family. He died in 1905, aged 56.

11. A Child’s Relentless Quest to Enlist

In 1851, John Klem was born in Ohio. Young Johnny, who changed his last name’s spelling to Clem and adopted Lincoln as a middle name in homage to the president, is the Civil War’s best known child soldier. John Lincoln Clem, as he came to be known, ran away when he was nine-years-old after his mother’s death, to enlist in the Union Army. He was rejected by regiment after regiment, because of his age and small size. However, little Johnny was persistent. He latched on to the 22^nd Michigan Infantry Regiment when it mustered in 1862, and followed them around. Eventually, the regiment’s members relented, and allowed him to tag along as a mascot and drummer boy. The soldiers even voluntarily raised money to pay him the $13 per month monthly wage of a Union private. In 1863, Johnny was finally allowed to officially enlist.

10. This Child Warrior Was So Tiny, They Had to Saw Off a Rifle to Fit His Size

At the Battle of Chickamauga, September 19^th – 20^th, 1863, John Lincoln Clem earned his place in Civil War lore and legend. During the two-day-battle, the twelve-year-old displayed conspicuous courage, after riding to the front atop an artillery caisson. The child soldier fought with his signature weapon, a sawed off rifle that had been trimmed to fit his diminutive size. Clem impressed his comrades with his bravery and steadiness under fire, and proved his mettle. In bouts of hand-to-hand combat, he demonstrated that it is not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog. As Rebels and Yankees charged and counter charged each other and came to close quarter grips amidst the ferocious fighting that marked that battle, tiny Clem proved himself the equal of giants.

9. The Kid Who Killed a Confederate Colonel

John Lincoln Clem’s army cap was pierced three times by bullets. His courage was not enough to save the Union forces from defeat. On the afternoon of September 20^th, at the close of the battle, Clem was one of the thousands of federal soldiers separated from their units during a chaotic retreat that was more like a flight than an orderly withdrawal. As he wearily lugged his sawed off rifle, Clem heard a horse approach from behind. When he looked back, the child soldier was confronted by a Confederate colonel on horseback, riding ahead of and urging on his pursuing Rebel soldiers. When he saw a little boy in Union blue toting a rifle, the enemy colonel ordered Clem to “Drop that gun!” and surrender forthwith. Young Johnny turned around, coolly raised his rifle, took aim, and shot the Confederate colonel off his horse.

8. The Youngest Sergeant in the US Army’s History

Soon as he shot the Confederate colonel, John Lincoln Clem hared off at a mad sprint through brambles and brush, until he reached the safety of Union lines. After the Battle of Chickamauga, twelve-year-old Clem was officially promoted to the rank of sergeant. That made him the youngest noncommissioned officer in the US Army’s history. A distinction he holds to this day. Clem’s conduct was widely reported in contemporary newspapers, and he became a nationally-known figure. Salmon P. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury and future Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, decorated Clem for his courage. A popular Civil War song, “The Drummer Boy of Shiloh“, written by William S. Hays and published in Harper’s Weekly soon after the Battle of Chickamauga, was reportedly inspired by Clem’s exploits.

7. John Lincoln Clem After the Civil War

A month after the Battle of Chickamauga, John Lincoln Clem was captured by the Confederates and became a prisoner of war. Eventually released in a prisoner exchange, he returned to the ranks and resumed the fight with the Army of the Cumberland. Clem was twice-wounded, before his discharge in September, 1864. After the war, he graduated high school in 1870. He rejoined the US Army in 1871, when he was commissioned a second lieutenant by President Grant. Clem married twice, raised a family, and served until 1915, when he retired as a brigadier general and as the last Civil War veteran still serving in the US Army. A year later, a special act of Congress promoted him to major general. John Lincoln Clem died in 1937, aged 85, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

6. A Twelve-Year-Old in the US Navy

Not all stories of America’s precocious warriors have a happy or satisfying ending. Take Calvin Leon Graham (1930 – 1992) and his World War II experiences. After his father’s death and mother’s remarriage, Calvin found himself one of seven children living with an abusive stepfather in Houston. At age eleven, he moved out with an older brother, and supported himself by delivering newspapers and telegrams on the weekends and outside school hours. A year later, in 1942, he told his mother he was going to visit relatives. Instead, twelve-year-old Calvin headed to a recruitment office. There, lying about his age, he joined the US Navy. That made him WWII’s youngest American serviceman. As seen below, he also became the youngest serviceman decorated for heroism during that conflict.

5. A Child’s Heroics Amidst Battle

After completing Navy boot camp in San Diego, Calvin Graham was sent to Pearl Harbor. There, in September, 1942, he was assigned to the recently commissioned battleship USS South Dakota, whose crew he joined as a loader for a 40mm antiaircraft gun. The following month, he served the guns during the Battle of Santa Cruz Islands, for which the South Dakota and her crew received a Navy commendation. During the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on the night of November 14-15, 1942, the South Dakota came under fire from at least three Japanese ships, was struck 26 times, and suffered significant damage. Calvin was hit by shrapnel, but ignored it to participate in rescue operations and help pull more seriously injured comrades to safety. He was awarded a Bronze Star for his conduct that day, and a Purple Heart for his wounds in action.

4. When the US Navy Refused to Release a Child Recruit

After the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, the battered South Dakota sailed to New York City for repairs. While it was docked, Calvin Graham went AWOL to attend his grandmother’s funeral in Texas. That was when Calvin’s mother discovered where her twelve-year-old son had been. She told the Navy, but incredibly, rather than immediately discharge the child, naval authorities sent him to the brig as punishment for going AWOL. It was only after Calvin’s sister threatened to go public that the Navy released him, giving him a dishonorable discharge and confiscating his awards. It was not until 1977, after writing to Congress and with President Jimmy Carter’s approval, that Calvin’s awards were restored. Except for the Purple Heart, for some reason. His dishonorable discharge was also changed to honorable. In 1988, his story was told in a TV movie, Too Young the Hero, in which Calvin was played by Rick Schroeder.

3. A Child Marine

Even more tragic than Calvin Graham was Dan Bullock. He was born in 1953 in Goldsboro, North Carolina, where he lived until his mother died when Dan was twelve-years-old. So he and his younger sister moved to Brooklyn, to live with their father and stepmother. When Dan was asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, his top three picks were a cop, a pilot, or a US Marine. He eventually decided to the give the Marines a try. However, he did not want to wait until he grew up. In September, 1968, fourteen-year-old Dan headed to a Marine Corps recruitment center with a doctored birth certificate. The birth year on the document was altered from 1953 to 1949, which made him eighteen – old enough to enlist.

2. A Fourteen-Year-Old US Marine in Vietnam

Although just fourteen, Dan Bullock was big and strong for his age – 5 foot 9, and 160 pounds. He made it through boot camp in Parris Island, and became a legit Marine. Unfortunately, his tale soon took a turn from the cute to the tragic. After boot camp, US Marine Corps Private First Class Dan Bullock was sent to Vietnam, a war whose insatiable maw was ever hungry for more and more bodies. He arrived in South Vietnam on May 18^th, 1969, and was assigned as a rifleman to Fox Company, Second Battalion, Fifth Marine Regiment, 1^st Marine Division. He ended up in Quang Nam Province, and was stationed in An Hoa Combat Base, about 25 miles southwest of Danang. By then, he was all of fifteen.

1. The Youngest American to Make the Ultimate Sacrifice in the Vietnam War

Dan Bullock might have been big for his age, but he was still a boy in every regard. Surrounded by men, he kept to himself, and his comrades noticed. Assigned base security duties, he was in a bunker with three other Marines on the night of June 6^th, 1969, when North Vietnamese sappers stealthily crept under the wire that surrounded the base. They got close enough to Dan’s bunker to toss a satchel charge through a slit. The explosion killed all four occupants. Dan Bullock was the youngest American killed in the Vietnam War, and the youngest American military fatality since World War I.

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Where Did We Find This Stuff? Some Sources and Further Reading

American Battlefield Trust – John Clem

Clarke, Frances M., and Plant, Rebecca Jo – Of Age: Boy Soldiers and Military Power in the Civil War Era (2022)

Find a Grave – Gustav Albert Schurmann (1849 – 1905)

History Collection – These 12 Tragic and Triumphant Teenagers Who Fought in World War II Will Astound You

Keesee, Dennis M. – Too Young to Die: Boy Soldiers of the Civil War (2001)

Military dot Com – How a Civil War Drummer Boy Became the Youngest Medal of Honor Recipient

New York Times, June 7^th, 2019 – He Enlisted at 14, Went to Vietnam at 15, and Died a Month Later

Ohio History Central – Johnny Klem

Pearl Harbor Visitors Bureau – Calvin Graham, the Youngest Recruit

Peladeau, Marius B. – Willie Went to War: Willie Johnston, Youngest Medal of Honor Recipient, Drummer, 3^rd Vermont Regiment (2005)

Smithsonian Magazine, December 19^th, 2012 – This 12-Year-Old Boy Fought on a World War II Battleship and Became the Nation’s Youngest Decorated War Hero

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund – Dan Bullock