Kids In Combat: 26 Photos Of The Civil War’s Child Soldiers

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A "powder monkey" aboard a ship, identified in some places as the U.S.S. New Hampshire and, in others, as the U.S.S. Pawnee.

Charleston, South Carolina. Circa 1864-1865.Library of Congress

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Little Johnny Clem became the youngest soldier in the Union Army to kill a man when he put down his drum, grabbed a rifle, and shot a Confederate officer.

Circa 1863-1865.Wikimedia Commons

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Three drummer boys in the Confederate army. By the time this picture had been taken, these boys were veterans of nine battles.

Circa 1861-1865.Library of Congress

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This photo, labelled "Captain Goodrich's Jack" on the back, appears to show the African-American servant of an army officer.

Circa 1861-1865.Library of Congress

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A 15-year-old Confederate child soldier lies dead in the trenches at Fort Mahone.

Petersburg, Virginia. 1865.Library of Congress

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A group of Generals in the Union Army pose for a photo with an African-American servant boy.

Cumberland Landing, Virginia. 1862.Library of Congress

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Major Luzerne Todd poses for a photograph with his African-American child servant.

Arlington Grounds, Virginia. 1861.Library of Congress

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The crew of a frigate poses in front of a cannon. The boy sitting on top serves as a powder monkey, gathering gunpowder and bringing it to the cannons.

Circa 1861-1865.Library of Congress

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A young African-American boy stands next to a Union Officer. He is most likely working as the officer's servant.

Circa 1861-1865.Library of Congress

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A young Union drummer.

Circa 1861-1865.Library of Congress

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A Union drummer boy in uniform.

Circa 1861-1865.Library of Congress

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Johnny Clem in uniform, with the stripes showing off his officer's rank.

Circa 1863-1865.Wikimedia Commons

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A portrait of a young boy in a Confederate uniform.

Circa 1861-1865.Library of Congress

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William Black, the youngest soldier to injured in active duty, was 12 years old when his arm was hit by an exploding shell.

Circa 1860-1865.Wikimedia Commons

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An African-American child poses in front of a painted backdrop in the clothing of an army servant.

Circa 1861-1865.Library of Congress

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Soldiers at Camp Cameron, including a young African-American servant boy.

Washington, D.C. 1861-1865.Library of Congress

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Drummer boy Johnny Jacobs in his Union Army uniform.

Circa 1861-1865.Library of Congress

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A child at a military camp leans against a wooden barrel with spikes.

Circa 1862-1863.Library of Congress

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A young drummer boy, his cheeks made rosy to emphasize his youth, poses with his drum.

Circa 1861-1865.Library of Congress

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Nathan Jones, an African-American servant boy, serving at Camp Metcalf.

Virginia. Circa 1861-1865.Library of Congress

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Johnny Clem, the youngest soldier in the Union Army. At the time of this photo, he was 12 years old.

1863.Wikimedia Commons

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Jimmy Doyle, a drummer boy who was wounded in combat.

N. Haven, Connecticut. 1863.Library of Congress

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A child in the uniform of the Washington Rifles.

Circa 1861-1865.Library of Congress

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A Union drummer boy in uniform, holding his drum.

Circa 1861-1865.Library of Congress

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Johnny Clem would survive the war, despite being captured and held prisoner by Confederate soldiers. He would even stay in the American Army after the war. When he left the service in 1915, he was a General and the last Civil War soldier still in the army.

1865.Wikimedia Commons

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A Union child soldier poses with his rifle.

Circa 1861-1865.Library of Congress

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Kids In Combat: 26 Photos Of The Civil War’s Child Soldiers

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The bloodiest war in American history was often fought by child soldiers.

The Civil War claimed 620,000 lives – nearly as many American casualties as every other war fought by the United States combined. And one out of every five people who enlisted to risk their lives fighting their fellow countrymen was less than 18 years old.

The child soldiers of the American Civil War were often musicians, drummers, scouts, servants, or messengers who marched alongside fighting men. Others, however, experienced the violence firsthand. Some served as “powder monkeys” on warships, carrying gunpowder to the cannons. Others picked up rifles themselves and went straight into the trenches, dying and fighting among grown men.

The best known of these child soldiers is John Clem, a drummer boy who earned the nickname “Johnny Shiloh” after shrapnel from a shell crashed through his drum and knocked him out cold. Clem earned his place in history in the Battle of Chickamauga when he put down his drum, picked up a rifle, and shot and killed a Confederate officer. He was 11 years old.

Clem was made sergeant – the youngest officer in the American history. He fought through the war to the bitter end, though he was captured and taken prisoner by Confederate soldiers.

Clem, though, was by no means the only child who fought and risked his life in the Civil War. Edward Black became the youngest enlisted American to be injured in battle when a blast of shrapnel shattered his left arm. He was eight years old.

Countless other children fought, with white children carrying drums, bugles, and guns and black children working as servants for white officers. Some children were captured, some were injured, and some were killed – but everyone saw the horrors of war firsthand, watching grown men kill and die. Every one of them had to pray each night that they would live long enough to ever become grown men.

For more on hard-living children throughout American history, view these vintage photos of child laborers. Then, see 39 Civil War photos that depict America in its darkest hour. Then, learn about the African-American troops who served in the Civil War.