The Boys War

Disir

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Sep 30, 2011
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So named as there were at least 100,000 kids under 15 enlisted in the Union Army. This is not even counting the Confederate child soldiers. You were supposed to enlist at age 18 but that isn't what happened. There were runaways, orphans, kids that joined with their fathers, and those that had no choice and were servants. In some cases the boys were tall enough that they lied about their age. In some instances, it was simply overlooked as the need for soldiers grew and the kids were considered cheaper.

Really young ones started out as drummers and memorized different drum calls which told the soldiers what they needed to do. The most famous is Johnny Clem who tried to enlist at age 10 and was finally accepted at age 12 and discharged at age 13. He turned around and reenlisted.
John Clem | Civil War Trust

Sometimes the kids were powder monkeys.
powder-monkey-229x300_0.jpg


Edward Black joined when he was 8 years old:
The youngest Union soldier and the youngest soldier to fight in the Civil War was a boy named Edward Black. Edward was born on May 30 in 1853, making him just 8 years old when he joined the Union army on July 24, 1861 as a drummer boy for the 21st Indiana volunteers. He is also considered one of the youngest soldiers ever to serve in the history of the U.S. Army.

Black was captured at the Battle of Baton Rouge in August of 1862 but was freed when the Union army won the battle. After the army discharged him in September of 1862, Edward reenlisted with 1st Indiana Volunteer Heavy Artillery in February 1863. He continued fighting until the end of the war and was honorable discharged in February of 1866.
Child Soldiers in the Civil War

There was a good deal of harassment from the older soldiers but the younger ones had much more stamina and could out march them. Elisha Stockwell (Union), 15, had an issue with a burly guy that used to punch him around and claimed he had to do that to all the new kids. This irritated Elisha to no end and he finally told the guy to go get his gun and meet him outside the camp. That guy didn't harass him after that.

The same occurred on the Confederate side.

There was a 15 year old boy that was harassed by an older soldier for several weeks until the boy got ticked off and grabbed his gun. The kid told the man he needed to apologize. The man picked his gun up and shot the kid dead. (The Boys' War by Jim Murphy page 22)

You can see some decent photos here in the gallary
Haunting Photos Of The American Civil War's Child Soldiers

e08f30781ceccc66e542ed98e03d0196--black-pride-drummers.jpg


The above is A.H. Johnson at age 15.
 
I remember the Left screaming bloody murder over Mel Gibson's "The Patriot" when, after the #2 brother was shot dead by a British officer, the two now oldest boys followed their Dad into the woods to kill the Brits and rescue their captured oldest brother.

Oh ... the horror.

Children become warriors in any domestic war.
 
I remember the Left screaming bloody murder over Mel Gibson's "The Patriot" when, after the #2 brother was shot dead by a British officer, the two now oldest boys followed their Dad into the woods to kill the Brits and rescue their captured oldest brother.

Oh ... the horror.

Children become warriors in any domestic war.

You remember "the Left screaming" do ya? :lmao:

What sort of aerosol propellants are you smoking, and why aren't you sharing?
 
I remember the Left screaming bloody murder over Mel Gibson's "The Patriot" when, after the #2 brother was shot dead by a British officer, the two now oldest boys followed their Dad into the woods to kill the Brits and rescue their captured oldest brother.

Oh ... the horror.

Children become warriors in any domestic war.

You remember "the Left screaming" do ya? :lmao:

What sort of aerosol propellants are you smoking, and why aren't you sharing?
----------------------------------------------- yeah , lefty liberals / democrats Pogo .
 
I remember the Left screaming bloody murder over Mel Gibson's "The Patriot" when, after the #2 brother was shot dead by a British officer, the two now oldest boys followed their Dad into the woods to kill the Brits and rescue their captured oldest brother.

Oh ... the horror.

Children become warriors in any domestic war.

You remember "the Left screaming" do ya? :lmao:

What sort of aerosol propellants are you smoking, and why aren't you sharing?

There were numerous commentaries about sending the "wrong message" to children.

"Dig boy! Dig! That hole not gonna dig itseff!"
 
I remember the Left screaming bloody murder over Mel Gibson's "The Patriot" when, after the #2 brother was shot dead by a British officer, the two now oldest boys followed their Dad into the woods to kill the Brits and rescue their captured oldest brother.

Oh ... the horror.

Children become warriors in any domestic war.

You remember "the Left screaming" do ya? :lmao:

What sort of aerosol propellants are you smoking, and why aren't you sharing?

There were numerous commentaries about sending the "wrong message" to children.

"Dig boy! Dig! That hole not gonna dig itseff!"

And "the Left" said that, did it?

What does it look like, this "Left"? Is it a big cubical thing that floats in space murmuring "you will be assilmilated"?

This is all sailing right over your pointed little head, isn't it.............
 
I remember the Left screaming bloody murder over Mel Gibson's "The Patriot" when, after the #2 brother was shot dead by a British officer, the two now oldest boys followed their Dad into the woods to kill the Brits and rescue their captured oldest brother.

Oh ... the horror.

Children become warriors in any domestic war.

You remember "the Left screaming" do ya? :lmao:

What sort of aerosol propellants are you smoking, and why aren't you sharing?

There were numerous commentaries about sending the "wrong message" to children.

"Dig boy! Dig! That hole not gonna dig itseff!"

And "the Left" said that, did it?

It did.

What does it look like, this "Left"?

Look in the mirror.
 
I remember the Left screaming bloody murder over Mel Gibson's "The Patriot" when, after the #2 brother was shot dead by a British officer, the two now oldest boys followed their Dad into the woods to kill the Brits and rescue their captured oldest brother.

Oh ... the horror.

Children become warriors in any domestic war.

I don't remember that. I'm not saying it didn't happen. I more than likely was not paying attention. I usually don't when it comes to movies. Not a Mel Gibson fan. Don't really care what someone else thinks about a movie or show.

The difference is that this was real. Mel Gibson and his oldest two sons got paid rather well and did not suffer the repercussions the child soldiers did.
 
child soldiers were a fact of life all through history . Whats a child soldier anyway , my Dad and Uncles stormed beach's in their late teens and nowadays 26 year olds are still on their Dads Health Insurance and living in their parents basements .
 
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and while the West doesn't use child soldiers , probably under 18 years of age the rest of the world trains and uses child soldiers all the time .
 
I remember the Left screaming bloody murder over Mel Gibson's "The Patriot" when, after the #2 brother was shot dead by a British officer, the two now oldest boys followed their Dad into the woods to kill the Brits and rescue their captured oldest brother.

Oh ... the horror.

Children become warriors in any domestic war.

Mel makes good movies. That one in particular was pretty accurate as far as depicting composites of everyday life then, as well as the warfare.
 
child soldiers were a fact of life all through history . Whats a child soldier anyway , my Dad and Uncles stormed beach's in their late teens and nowadays 26 year olds are still on their Dads Health Insurance and living in their parents basements .

and while the West doesn't use child soldiers , probably under 18 years of age the rest of the world trains and uses child soldiers all the time .

Yes, I know.

Their brains have not fully developed yet. They are just fodder. Expendable. That impacts them for the rest of their lives, if they live.
It's tragic.

There were times where two camps were close together. There were instances of the kids (and adults) from both sides talking to each other, playing card games at night and then waking up early to shoot at each other.
 
hey Desir , thing is that the excuse or reason of undeveloped brains is always being pushed higher and higher . During the Civil War and the Revolution ages of soldiers somewhat shown by your examples were very low . In my and my Dads time the age of manhood or full adulthood was about 18 [legally] . Soldier had to be 18 . Yet we were both called Young men at 12 years of age . My Dad and Uncles all joined for ww2 as soon as they could . Anyway , my last point is that the age of being an ADULT with fully developed brain is always being pushed up nowadays except in the area of voting . dems and liberal are now pushing for a lowering of voting age from 18 to a lower age Desir . --------------------------- just some comments Desir .
 
and as further comment , i think that fighting war is natural in most young boys . Look at both of the boys in your opening post number 1 . Both thought that they were pretty cool Desir .
 
hey Desir , thing is that the excuse or reason of undeveloped brains is always being pushed higher and higher . During the Civil War and the Revolution ages of soldiers somewhat shown by your examples were very low . In my and my Dads time the age of manhood or full adulthood was about 18 [legally] . Soldier had to be 18 . Yet we were both called Young men at 12 years of age . My Dad and Uncles all joined for ww2 as soon as they could . Anyway , my last point is that the age of being an ADULT with fully developed brain is always being pushed up nowadays except in the area of voting . dems and liberal are now pushing for a lowering of voting age from 18 to a lower age Desir . --------------------------- just some comments Desir .

Yes. In the Civil War era, most kids in rural areas had already been working, and in the urban areas they were looking for jobs at 11 and 12, 13 at the latest. The average lifespan was only 42 at the time, down some 15% from 1820, due to the mass immigrations from then up to 1860 dropping wages through the floor, malnutrition and the epidemics that contributes to, etc. 'Natives from families who had been in the states for three generations back also saw their average height drop an average of 15% as well, due to the poverty and lack of decent diets. The existential realities made them much tougher and harder generations by Civil War. Much of this was the rule up until the early 1900's, and in many places it persisted much later into the 20th Century.

War was a much more exciting and glamorous than the normal drudgery for many, or so they thought at such young ages, hence the appeal of war to many demographics throughout world history, not just ours.
 
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hey Desir , thing is that the excuse or reason of undeveloped brains is always being pushed higher and higher . During the Civil War and the Revolution ages of soldiers somewhat shown by your examples were very low . In my and my Dads time the age of manhood or full adulthood was about 18 [legally] . Soldier had to be 18 . Yet we were both called Young men at 12 years of age . My Dad and Uncles all joined for ww2 as soon as they could . Anyway , my last point is that the age of being an ADULT with fully developed brain is always being pushed up nowadays except in the area of voting . dems and liberal are now pushing for a lowering of voting age from 18 to a lower age Desir . --------------------------- just some comments Desir .

This liberal doesn't want to see the voting age dropped. I can recognize Democratic Party shenanigans when I see them. I'll be having none of that.

I agree they are pushing it up. At least the UK neuroscientists have some research that says your brain hasn't fully developed until 30s and 40s--I don't think they are questioning accountability though. But, that whole thing of time and consequences doesn't really kick in until 26-28. Abstract thinking doesn't start kicking in until around 12. I get what your saying. My dad volunteered at 17 for Viet Nam. My grandfathers enlisted at 18 in WWII. And on.

The same reason for lowering the voting age is probably the same reason for lowering the age of soldiers.
 
hey Desir , thing is that the excuse or reason of undeveloped brains is always being pushed higher and higher . During the Civil War and the Revolution ages of soldiers somewhat shown by your examples were very low . In my and my Dads time the age of manhood or full adulthood was about 18 [legally] . Soldier had to be 18 . Yet we were both called Young men at 12 years of age . My Dad and Uncles all joined for ww2 as soon as they could . Anyway , my last point is that the age of being an ADULT with fully developed brain is always being pushed up nowadays except in the area of voting . dems and liberal are now pushing for a lowering of voting age from 18 to a lower age Desir . --------------------------- just some comments Desir .

This liberal doesn't want to see the voting age dropped. I can recognize Democratic Party shenanigans when I see them. I'll be having none of that.

I agree they are pushing it up. At least the UK neuroscientists have some research that says your brain hasn't fully developed until 30s and 40s--I don't think they are questioning accountability though. But, that whole thing of time and consequences doesn't really kick in until 26-28. Abstract thinking doesn't start kicking in until around 12. I get what your saying. My dad volunteered at 17 for Viet Nam. My grandfathers enlisted at 18 in WWII. And on.

The same reason for lowering the voting age is probably the same reason for lowering the age of soldiers.
--------------------------------------------- i don't understand your last 2 and a half line sentence . The reason for wanting a lower voting age is obvious to me and its because the dems want less experienced voters Desir .
 
hey Desir , thing is that the excuse or reason of undeveloped brains is always being pushed higher and higher . During the Civil War and the Revolution ages of soldiers somewhat shown by your examples were very low . In my and my Dads time the age of manhood or full adulthood was about 18 [legally] . Soldier had to be 18 . Yet we were both called Young men at 12 years of age . My Dad and Uncles all joined for ww2 as soon as they could . Anyway , my last point is that the age of being an ADULT with fully developed brain is always being pushed up nowadays except in the area of voting . dems and liberal are now pushing for a lowering of voting age from 18 to a lower age Desir . --------------------------- just some comments Desir .

This liberal doesn't want to see the voting age dropped. I can recognize Democratic Party shenanigans when I see them. I'll be having none of that.

I agree they are pushing it up. At least the UK neuroscientists have some research that says your brain hasn't fully developed until 30s and 40s--I don't think they are questioning accountability though. But, that whole thing of time and consequences doesn't really kick in until 26-28. Abstract thinking doesn't start kicking in until around 12. I get what your saying. My dad volunteered at 17 for Viet Nam. My grandfathers enlisted at 18 in WWII. And on.

The same reason for lowering the voting age is probably the same reason for lowering the age of soldiers.
--------------------------------------------- i don't understand your last 2 and a half line sentence . The reason for wanting a lower voting age is obvious to me and its because the dems want less experienced voters Desir .

That age group is more idealistic (less experience).
 
hey Desir , thing is that the excuse or reason of undeveloped brains is always being pushed higher and higher . During the Civil War and the Revolution ages of soldiers somewhat shown by your examples were very low . In my and my Dads time the age of manhood or full adulthood was about 18 [legally] . Soldier had to be 18 . Yet we were both called Young men at 12 years of age . My Dad and Uncles all joined for ww2 as soon as they could . Anyway , my last point is that the age of being an ADULT with fully developed brain is always being pushed up nowadays except in the area of voting . dems and liberal are now pushing for a lowering of voting age from 18 to a lower age Desir . --------------------------- just some comments Desir .

This liberal doesn't want to see the voting age dropped. I can recognize Democratic Party shenanigans when I see them. I'll be having none of that.

I agree they are pushing it up. At least the UK neuroscientists have some research that says your brain hasn't fully developed until 30s and 40s--I don't think they are questioning accountability though. But, that whole thing of time and consequences doesn't really kick in until 26-28. Abstract thinking doesn't start kicking in until around 12. I get what your saying. My dad volunteered at 17 for Viet Nam. My grandfathers enlisted at 18 in WWII. And on.

The same reason for lowering the voting age is probably the same reason for lowering the age of soldiers.
--------------------------------------------- i don't understand your last 2 and a half line sentence . The reason for wanting a lower voting age is obvious to me and its because the dems want less experienced voters Desir .

That age group is more idealistic (less experience).
-------------------------------- i think that we agree , younger voters are easier to lie to and convince on BS .
 
I remember the Left screaming bloody murder over Mel Gibson's "The Patriot" when, after the #2 brother was shot dead by a British officer, the two now oldest boys followed their Dad into the woods to kill the Brits and rescue their captured oldest brother.

Oh ... the horror.

Children become warriors in any domestic war.

You remember "the Left screaming" do ya? :lmao:

What sort of aerosol propellants are you smoking, and why aren't you sharing?

There were numerous commentaries about sending the "wrong message" to children.

"Dig boy! Dig! That hole not gonna dig itseff!"

And "the Left" said that, did it?

It did.

What does it look like, this "Left"?

Look in the mirror.

Nope, doesn't work. You see son, when I look in the mirror I see a single individual, solely responsible for that single individual's words and actions --- and no one else's.

What you cited there was a collective.

Is that too big a word for you? :)
 

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