1. John Lincoln Clem was an American general officer who served as a drummer boy in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
13 Facts About John Clem
1. 2.
John Clem gained fame for his bravery on the battlefield, becoming the youngest noncommissioned officer in the history of the United States Army at the age of 12.
3.
John Clem retired from the Army in 1915, having attained the rank of brigadier general in the Quartermaster Corps; he was at that time the last veteran of the American Civil War still on duty in the United States Armed Forces, although others similarly aged and experienced soldiers such as Peter Conover Hains and Albert A Michelson rejoined the military after American entry into World War I in 1917.
4.
John Clem tagged along anyway and the 22nd eventually adopted him as mascot and drummer boy.
5.
John Clem is said to have ridden an artillery caisson to the front and wielded a musket trimmed to his size.
6.
In October 1863, John Clem was captured in Georgia by Confederate cavalrymen while detailed as a train guard.
7.
John Clem graduated from artillery school at Fort Monroe in 1875.
Related searches
Sam Houston 8.
John Clem was promoted to captain in 1882 and transferred to the Quartermaster Department where he stayed for the rest of his career.
9.
John Clem then served in the occupation of Puerto Rico as depot and chief quartermaster in San Juan.
10.
John Clem was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1901 and to colonel in 1903.
11.
John Clem then served from 1906 to 1911 as chief quartermaster at Fort Sam Houston in Texas.
12.
John Clem married Anna Rosetta French, daughter of Major General William H French, on May 24,1875, in Maryland.
13.
John Clem was a companion of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States and the Military Order of Foreign Wars.