Johnny Clem

One of the youngest individuals involved in the Civil War was a young boy named Johnny Clem (also seen in records as Klem). Many regiments rejected his attempts at joining, because he was just 10 years old when the Civil War started. Although he was rejected, the Twenty-Second Michigan Infantry Regiment officers gave him money for a wage and gave him a gun. They also taught him to be a drummer boy for the unit.

It was not until Clem was 12 years old that he was officially allowed to be in the Army. There were rumors that although he was not officially in the Army when he was 10, he was a drummer boy at the Battle of Shiloh. The story says that while Clem was playing his drum, a cannonball actually smashed it. Once Clem actually became a part of the U.S. Army, he participated in the Battle of Chickamauga. While this was going on he was ordered by a Confederate colonel to surrender. However, Clem attempted to shoot the colonel and got away. Some records say that he killed the colonel and some say that he only wounded him. Either way, Clem survived and after the war continued his career in the U.S. Military. He remained in the military until 1915. At this time, he retired and was the last Civil War veteran to do so.

This statue is located in my hometown of Newark, Ohio, which is where John Clem was originally from.

Works Cited
http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Johnny_Klem
http://www.historybyzim.com/2011/07/johnnyclem/
Photo Credit: ://www.historybyzim.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Johnny-Clem.jpg
http://www.historybyzim.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Johnny-Clem-Statue.jpg