23. The Young Hero of Antietam
When the Civil War began, John Cook, a thirteen-year-old child from Cincinnati, Ohio, enlisted as a bugler in the 4th United States Artillery Regiment. On September 17th, 1862, during the Battle of Antietam, Cook – by then fifteen – secured his place in history. His battery section was ordered to support the attack of General John Gibbon’s division up the Hagerstown Pike. As the battery reached its assigned position and began to unlimber, a column of Rebels unexpectedly emerged from the nearby West Woods.
The Rebels poured a devastating volley that immediately felled most of Cook’s section, and pinned down the survivors with withering rifle fire. When Cook’s captain was shot off his horse and seriously injured, the lad sprang into action. Dragging his wounded commander to safety, Cook returned to the battery section and discovered that all the artillerymen had been struck down. The young lad rose to the occasion, seized the moment, and became a hero.