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The Tragic History of the U.S. Child Warriors

Khalid Elhassan June 9, 2020 34 min

11. The Young Hero

Orion Perseus Howe was one of the youngest recipients of America’s highest honor, the Medal of Honor. Born in Ohio in 1848, Orion moved with his family to Illinois shortly before the start of the Civil War. When he was a child of twelve, Orion and his younger brother Lyston enlisted as musicians in the 55^th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment, in which their father served as the regimental band leader. During his service, Orion was present at 14 separate battles in which his regiment fought.

His moment of fame came during the Vicksburg Campaign, on May 19^th, 1863. During an assault on Vicksburg that day, the 55th Illinois ended up pressed close to Rebel lines. The Illinoisans wound up in a vicious firefight that quickly exhausted nearly every man’s cartridge box, and it became critical to secure a resupply of ammunition from the stocks in the rear. It was Orion’s moment to shine.

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.