← Back to the front page

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

Khalid Elhassan April 4, 2025 17 min

Children - US Army Sergeant John Lincoln Clem — US Army Sergeant John Lincoln Clem. Metropolitan Museum of Art

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

Children - Depiction of Willie Johnston during the Union retreat in the Seven Days Battles — Depiction of Willie Johnston during the Union retreat in the Seven Days Battles. Harper’s Weekly

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.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.