Confederate Boy Soldiers
Printed From: History Community ~ All Empires
Category: Regional History or Period History
Forum Name: History of the Americas
Forum Discription: The Americas: History from pre-Colombian times to the present
URL: http://www.allempires.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=33758
Printed Date: 28-Apr-2024 at 16:47
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.56a - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Confederate Boy Soldiers
Posted By: Salah ad-Din
Subject: Confederate Boy Soldiers
Date Posted: 01-Jun-2013 at 15:29
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Men as young as nine and as old as eighty-three are known to have enlisted in one side or the other during the American Civil War. But with the War placing greater strain on the white manhood of the South, teenaged and even boy soldiers seem to have been a Confederate trend in particular - some of the camp guards at Andersonsville and other prison camps, for instance, were children. Cadets of the Virginia Military Institute provided many officers for the fledgling Confederate Army at the start of the War. Some Rebel soldiers expressed resentment in their letters and diaries, at being bossed around by boys young enough to be their sons. The 1864 Battle of New Market, in which John Breckinridge defeated the Union's Franz Sigel, was perhaps the finest hour of the VMI cadets during the War. The boys lost ten of their number, but were able to save the day for the Southern army. One of these young soldiers, a Jewish-American named Moses Ezekiel, later became a sculptor and dedicated a statue at the Institute, Virginia Mourning Her Dead. A good work on the subject: http://www.amazon.com/Young-Lions-Confederate-Cadets-War/dp/157003575X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1364247179&sr=1-1&keywords=the+young+lions+confederate+cadets - Young Lions: Confederate Cadets at War: James Lee Conrad: 9781570035753: Amazon.com: Books
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Replies:
Posted By: Nick1986
Date Posted: 06-Jun-2013 at 15:16
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Drummers were usually children because grown men were needed to fire the muskets. The last US veteran was only 14 when he enlisted in 1865 ------------- Me Grimlock not nice Dino! Me bash brains! |
Posted By: Cryptic
Date Posted: 08-Jun-2013 at 11:43
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The use of boy soldiers in the U.S. civil war also had a darker side: Irregular fighters on both sides used youths as executioners. For example, the executioner of Bloody Bill Anderson's group was said to be an underaged fighter. I have read other accounts of youths being ordered to kill rival prisoners in Kentucky and TN both as a means to "blood them". Likewise, some, or many, children do not have the fully formed consciences of adults so there is less of a chance that a youth will refuse the group leader's orders regarding the killing of defenseless people. As a result, some irregular group leaders began to rely on children to carry out executions rather than risk refusals and the following loss of face.
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Posted By: Nick1986
Date Posted: 15-Jun-2013 at 20:48
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Interesting. In the British army, it was the drummer boys who carried out the floggings (presumably for the same reason) ------------- Me Grimlock not nice Dino! Me bash brains! |