Civil War Scout
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Resources
    • Civil War FAQs >
      • What Caused the Civil War?
    • Primary Documents
  • Scouting Reports
    • Shiloh National Military Park
  • Intelligence Reports
    • Elementary Readers
    • Middle School Readers
    • Mature Readers
    • Scholars
  • Contact

Boys at War

1/3/2017

0 Comments

 
PictureUnion Drummer Johnny Jacobs; Library of Congress
We typically think of war as the work of adults.  Adults make the policies that lead to war.  Children should not be exposed to the death, destruction and moral ambiguity that results from armed conflicts. Today, all branches of the American military require enlistees to be at least 17 years of age (with parental consent).  But war hasn’t always been something that society has tried to shield children from.

The Civil War has often been called The Boys’ War because of the young ages of the combatants.  The average age of the Union soldier was 25.8 years (records for the Confederate armies are incomplete making it difficult to figure an average age).  Both armies had policies that required a minimum age of 18 to enlist*, but that was policy, not necessarily practice.  A determined young man or an unscrupulous recruiting officer could find ways to circumvent these rules, and they did so with alarming frequency.  Many of these children were initially enlisted as musicians, but when the fighting started, either by choice or circumstances they found themselves carrying a musket or picking up a ramrod.  The deadly hail of lead made no distinction of age when it found its target.

It is estimated that nearly 100,000 Union soldiers were under the age of 17 at the time they enlisted.  Of the 1,523 Medal of Honors awarded for meritorious conduct during the Civil War, 48 were awarded to children under the age of 18.  The youngest known Union soldier was Edward Black (born May 30, 1853) who was barely eight years old when he enlisted with the 21st Indiana Voluntary Infantry as its drummer on July 24, 1861.
​
This month, we will be exploring the role of children in the Civil War.  While this topic may be difficult, it provides valuable opportunities for parents and teachers to engage the children they may know in conversation.
Picture
Edwin Francis Jemison, 2nd Louisiana. Born December 1, 1844; enlisted May 11, 1861; Died July 1, 1862. Library of Congress
  • ​What reason(s) could these children have for going off to war?
  • How did what they experience shape them and their future?
  • What did they gain and what did they lose in the experience?
  • Are there things that you (as a child) or your children would be compelled to risk your lives for?
  • Is a nation’s debt greater to child soldiers than to adult soldiers?
  • Where and how are children around the world still involved in war?

*The Union Army’s minimum enlistment age was 18, and 17 for musicians.  Younger children could enlist with parental permission.  For the majority of the Confederacy’s existence, the minimum enlistment age was 18, but in 1864 that was lowered to 17.

​Sources and Further Reading

Child Soldiers in the Civil War

​Children in the Civil War

​The Boy's War: Confederate and Union Soldiers Talk About the Civil War by Jim Murphy

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Toni is a wife, mom and history buff who loves bringing the Civil War to life for family members of all ages.

    Archives

    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    January 2018
    October 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016

    Categories

    All
    Black History Month
    Book Review
    Bull Run
    Causes
    Chancellorsville
    Charleston
    Children
    Confederate
    Courage
    Death
    Ellwood
    Fort Sumter
    Franklin
    Fredericksburg
    General History
    Gettysburg
    Hunley
    Kids Book
    Letters
    Manassas
    Medicine
    Monuments
    Murfreesboro
    Music
    Navies
    New Market
    Shiloh
    Slavery
    Soldiers
    Spies
    States-rights65a8dce77a
    Stones-river
    Stonewall-jackson
    Technology
    Travel
    Union
    Wilderness
    Women's History Month

    RSS Feed

© COPYRIGHT 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Resources
    • Civil War FAQs >
      • What Caused the Civil War?
    • Primary Documents
  • Scouting Reports
    • Shiloh National Military Park
  • Intelligence Reports
    • Elementary Readers
    • Middle School Readers
    • Mature Readers
    • Scholars
  • Contact