When Johnny Went Marching: Young Americans Fight the Civil War [Hardcover]

G. Clifton Wisler (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up

0rion Howe was just thirteen years old when he stole away from his Chicago home and traveled alone to Mississippi to join his father and younger brother's Union regiment. He received a Medal of Honor for his heroism on the battlefield at Vicksburg.

Young Miles Moore was a drummer boy for the famous 54th Massachusetts Infantry, one of the early black regiments formed during the Civil War. He helped the wounded when his regiment bravely led the attack on Battery Wagner.

Against the advice of his general, nineteen-year-old Confederate soldier Richard Kirkland risked his life to help wounded enemy soldiers on the battlefield. His act of compassion sparked a truce at Fredericksburg.

In this book, you will see the faces and hear the stories of forty-nine young people, appearing for the first time in one volume. There are soldiers and spies, drummers and buglers, a future president, and six youngsters presented with the Medal of Honor. Some were boys, some were girls, some died, and some survived. But all were young, and all have a story to tell.

Known, for his "accurate, well-researched historical fiction" (ALA Booklist), distinguished Civil War historian and author G. Clifton Wisler gives a face to the war that divided our nation.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 4-8-Despite orders from both sides banning the enlistment of those under the age of 18, thousands of them fought during the Civil War. Wisler has gathered the stories of a few dozen such boys who entered military service as drummers, hospital orderlies, drivers, musicians, and often full-fledged fighting men. The introduction describes the various ruses that they employed to enlist and explains how the heavy casualties of the first few years of the war prompted officers to ignore the age limits and recruit male children as young as 10. Each soldier's story is told in a concise vignette of two or three pages, often personalized with his photograph, excerpts from his diary or his letters, and sometimes his postwar recollections. Their experiences were almost always the same: deprivation, disease, and fatigue; horrific encounters with death and destruction; and the nearly sudden loss of innocence. Their faces, staring from the vintage photographs, are riveting in their stark revelation that these are indeed children in uniform. Some of their stories have appeared in more comprehensive histories of the Civil War, but Wisler's inclusion of so many of them in a single volume makes readers keenly aware of the sheer numbers of youngsters who experienced such a painful and tragic coming-of-age. Readers who crave Civil War literature with young subjects will find their accounts irresistible. An excellent companion volume to Wisler's fictional Mr. Lincoln's Drummer (1995) and The Drummer Boy of Vicksburg (1997, both Dutton).

William McLoughlin, Brookside School, Worthington, OH

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. Having researched Civil War drummer boys for three historical novels, Wisler now offers a nonfiction book presenting the experiences of many young men and women who were involved in the conflict. He includes a chapter on drummers, of course, but there is also a discussion of other groups, such as immigrants, black soldiers, and VMI cadets. Some chapters focus on a single individual, such as 17-year-old Confederate spy Belle Boyd, or drummer Willie Johnston, who joined the Union army at age 11 and received the Medal of Honor at 13. Spaciously laid out and well designed, the book is illustrated mainly with period photographs. The stories themselves are varied and interesting, and some individual chapters would lend themselves to reading aloud in the classroom. Back matter includes Wisler's extensive source notes, bibliographies of primary and secondary sources, and a glossary. This solid yet personal approach to history will complement more traditional books on the War between the States. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; First edition edition (September 18, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688165370
• ISBN-13: 978-0688165376
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,196,475 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Young Soldiers....., January 10, 2002

By 

Roz Levine - See all my reviews

This review is from: When Johnny Went Marching Home: Young Americans Fight the Civil War (Library Binding)

Though both the North and South banned the enlistment of anyone under the age of 18, thousands of boys and some girls as young as ten fought during the Civil War. They came from all walks of life, immigrants, blacks, the poor, and rich, even future president William McKinley, and served as soldiers, drummers, buglers, hospital orderlies, and spies. Many were wounded, imprisoned, died in battle, or of disease, and six even received the Medal of Honor. G. Clifton Wisler has compiled the stories and experiences of 49 of these very young Americans into a riveting and vivid collection. History comes alive in short two or three page chapters, and each account is very personal and poignant, often using diary entries, letters, and postwar recollections if possible, and most include a haunting photograph of each young soldier at the time of his/her service. It is obvious that this book was a labor of love, and Mr Wisler's painstaking research and attention to detail brings these stories to life. A map, extensive chapter notes, glossary, index, and bibliography are included to augment lessons and discussions. Perfect for youngsters 10 and older,When Johnny Went Marching is a masterpiece, and children will be fascinated as they read about soldiers their own age who tried to make a difference.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Teach your children well..., December 15, 2007

By 

Kerry Walters (Lewisburg, PA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: When Johnny Went Marching: Young Americans Fight the Civil War (Hardcover)

It's been estimated that during the Civil War, 1 out of 50 soldiers in the Federal army and 1 out of 20 in the Confederate army were under 18 years old. Some of them were as young as 11 or 12. Those who joined the Navy were generally used as powder monkeys, tasked with hauling gunpowder to the ship cannons during battle. Those who joined the Army were generally used as drummer boys, but during and after battle were frequently enlisted as medics.

Today we're horrified at the thought of child soldiers. Our ancestors in the Civil War seemed less disturbed. This is a crucial difference in the sensibilities of their time and ours.

But author G. Clifton Wisler seems not to appreciate the shift. His book, written for kids in grades 5 through 8, tends to glorify the child soldiers who fought and sometimes died in the Civil War. He portrays them as heroic, valiant, brave, and occasionally even writes as if running off to join the army was little more than an adventuresome lark. The battlefield butchery of the Civil War and the horrific physical and psychological wounds suffered by those who fought in it are ignored.

I appreciate that school-age kids need heroes to inspire them and to serve as role models. But Wisler's treatment of Civil War child soldiers is a whitewash of the horror of war that may give young readers today a tragically misguided picture.

For adults reading this review who might wish to learn more about the harsh reality of child soldiers in the Civil War, I'd recommend the following: Scott Cohn, Beyond Their Years: Stories of Sixteen Civil War Children (2003), James Martin, The Children's Civil War (1998), James Martin, Children for the Union: The War Spirit on the Northern Home Front (2004), and Emmy Werner, Reluctant Witnesses: Children's Voices from the Civil War (1998).