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The Tragic History of the U.S. Child Warriors

Khalid Elhassan June 9, 2020 34 min

27. Back to School

Back in Washington, President Lincoln decided that Gustav Schurmann boy had already used up too many of his lives. So he ended the child’s Civil War service, and ordered him back home to attend school in preparation for West Point in a few years. It had been a good run. During Gustav’s Civil War career, he served as a bugler for five different generals, saw plenty of action, was recognized for his courage, earned medals, befriended the president’s youngest son, and was guested at the White House.

All in all, young Gustav had experienced as much adventure and excitement as he had hoped to see when he enlisted. Following his discharge, Gustav returned to New York. 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, at the age of 56.

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.