Bookends
New book chronicles boys wearing blue in the Civil War

Friday, June 15, 2001

Bill Eichenberger
Dispatch Book Critic

Dennis Keesee grew up in the shadow of a 35-star American flag painted on the side of his family's barn off Bevelhymer Road near New Albany.

The flag commemorated the five Doran boys -- his maternal ancestors -- who fought in the Civil War and inflamed in Keesee a passion for history.

Photo courtesy Dennis Keesee John Lincoln Clem reportedly killed a Confederate colonel at Chickamauga.

In 1983, Keesee purchased a small box of photographs at an estate sale. Inside was a picture of John McClay, a 13-year-old musician in the 43rd Ohio Infantry Regiment.

"By 1991, I had accumulated a substantial collection of photographs and information related to young Union boys,'' Keesee writes in Too Young To Die: Boy Soldiers of the Union Army, 1861-1865 (Blue Acorn, $35).

Keesee opens Too Young To Die with the story of Urbana youngster Nathaniel Gwynne, born in 1849 and twice wounded at the Battle of the Crater in 1864. His wounds never healed properly, and he died of them in 1883.

"The beardless boy bugler of the 13th Ohio Cavalry joined his slain comrades on the other side,'' Keesee writes. "He had paid for his youthful yearnings to become a soldier . . . with his life.''

Too Young To Die features 213 photographs and illustrations and is, according to Blue Acorn, "the largest compilation of boy-soldier photographs ever assembled.'' It features several photographs of John Lincoln Clem, Newark's renowned "Drummer Boy of Chickamauga.''

More than the images of too- young heroes, Keesee gives readers their words, too:

"Well, a little past ten years old, I, with my father and friends, on the 9th of August (1862) entered Camp Dennison,'' Gilbert Vanzant wrote in his diary. ". . . and how proud I felt with my little drum on my back a- going in the army as a drummer boy, and be with the brave soldiers who had started out to defend our country.''

Captains have often had the task of writing letters home to announce the death in battle of a son or husband or father. Pity Capt. John P.S. Gobin of the 47th Pennsylvania, who had to write young John Boulton Young's parents in 1861:

"It is with the most profound feelings of sorrow I have ever experienced that I am compelled to announce to you the death of our 'Pet' and your son Boulton,'' Gobin wrote.

"He was the life and the light of our company, and his death caused a blight and a sadness to prevail, that only rude wheels of time can efface.''

Keesee will discuss and sign copies of his book from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday in Barnes & Noble, Easton Town Center, 4005 Townsfair Way.

The Columbus Dispatch

"I was looking at a copy of your book. I opened it and almost immediately turned to a page mentioning my Great Grandfather. Walter A. Cheney joined at the ripe old age of 13. He tried to join when he was 12. After being refused twice, he added an extra "E" to his last name and was accepted as a Drummer for the 125th OVI.

I never knew much about him until recently. The 125th's website was the first information I found. Well, you can imagine my excitement when I found his name in your book. I never knew the details of his wounding. I purchase the book as fast as I could. I just wanted to send you this short note to Thank You as much as I possibly could.

Walter A. Cheney's very proud Great-Grandson,
Dale T. Cheney"

And the boys, little ones, went off to war
Urbana's Nathaniel McLean Gwynne leads parade of stories in author Dennis M. Keesee's Civil War book

By TOM STAFFORD
Community News Editor

In "Too Young To Die: Boy Soldiers of the Union Army 1861-65," author Dennis M. Keesee marches before us a parade of boy drummers, buglers, markers, orphans, cannoneers, heroes, mascots, and deserters that took to the field seven score years ago.

Leading the parade in the book is Nathaniel McLean Gwynne, of Urbana.

We meet the 15-year-old blue-eyed bugler shortly after 5 a.m. on July 30, 1864, as the 13th Ohio Cavalry advances toward a huge hole in the Confederate earthworks at Petersburg created by 8,000 pounds of gunpowder stuffed underneath it and set off by Union troops.

A boy who with enough defiance in him to run away from home without his parents' knowledge and enough determination to latch on to the 13th after being rejected by others, Gwynne this day would show those qualities in battle.

Told to stay behind by his commanding officer, he said, "I came to fight and fight I will," Keesee writes.

In the fighting after the blast, the unit's colors went down "and young Gwynne rushed to save them," Keesee writes. "On his way back with the flag, confederate lead struck his left arm three inches below the shoulder."

As he continued, "again, he was hit, this time through the knee," writes Keesee. Gwynne would lose his arm and eventually -at age 33- his life to the injuries he suffered that day.

But he also would gain a meausure of fame: After his official muster into the army was back-dated to May 10, 1864, he would be nominated for and recieve the Medal of Honor. And after his death, his wife would apply for and recieve a widow's pension.

"Stories like this were actually quite common during the four long years of the American Civil War," Keesee writes in the introducton to his book.

For although a full one-third of the soldiers on official union rosters were listed as 18 years of age, many of them may have lied to get into the service. The number of underage boys who were in the ranks will never be known, Keesee said.

But, thanks to his research, some of their stories are known. Here are a few about Ohio boys.

A stolen childhood

Ten years old on Aug. 6 1862, when he enlisted as drummer with Company D 79th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Gilbert Vanzant left Port William, Ohio, with 20 of his friends and neighbors and was joined in the unit in October by his father.

"War times make foilks do funny things,and they stole him from me, really, his father and the rest," Vanzant's mother said.

The boy with the stolen childhoodranks as the youngest soldier in the Union Army to complete a three-year enlistment and is noted for serving with distiniction.

Made a mounted orderly when it became clear that he could not endure the hardships of macrhing, Vanzant repeatedly impressed his commanders with his courage under fire.

Capt. William Hardenbrook of the 70th Indiana dispatched Vanzant to fetch a group of his troops, the Pioneers, in the midst of battle.

Keesee quotes the captain's remarks:

"This noble, little trusty and brave soldier took the order, and in less than 30 minutes returned with my Pioneers. Reporting to me during the thickest of shot and shell, just as he rode up to me, my horse being wounded by a piece of shell from the rebel guns, he took my wounded horse to the rear."

Hard corps case

Private John C. Weber of Huron County, Ohio, was not accompanied by his father into the service.

Not quite 17 at the time, he had twice run off from home to become an orderly on the artillery chief's staff for the 3rd Division, Fourth Corps, Army of Cumberland.

His father had twice traveled to fetch the boy home, but after the boy's third attempt, the father relented on one condition: that the boy come home and say goodbye to his mother.

"I would have gone," Weber said after the war, "but didn't get the chance, for the next day we got orders to start for Louisville. That's the way I got into the battery."

Generation gap

As the war wore on, battlefield hazards created new lines of division in the nation.

With youngsters returning in pine boxes, or news of their deaths reaching home by other means, many Northern parents realized the Army was no place for their boys and tried hard to keep them from going. This was no easy task. Parents and children often were pitted against each other with the outcome up for grabs until the war ended or the boys escaped parental hold."

10-year-old deserter

Entry into the armed services didn't work for all the boys.

After leaving home at age 10, Albert C White of Marion, Ohio, decided the army life wasn't for him, Keesee writes:

"Albert officially was listed as a deserter on Dec. 31, 1862. If authorities wanted to retrieve the musician the easily could have done so, but arresting a 9- or 10-year-old boy would have pointedly illustrated how foolish it was that he was permitted to join the Army at all. By December his father also had his fill of soldiering and resigned."

Marching orphanage

If some young soldiers were homesick, others might have been looking for a home.

"High mortality rates in America during the mid-1800s plauged the country with thousands of orphans," Keesee writes. "In rural areas, orphans were readily accepted in to relatives' households."

Such was the case of James W. Conger, who was 15 months old when hi mother died and 6 when his father died. Moving to his grandparents' farm in Morrow County, Ohio, the 16-year-old orphan enlisted with three of his cousins in Company B, 43rd Ohio.

He seemed to find what he was looking for. By May 1865 was regimental quartermaster sergeant.

Too small for his britches

Putting boys in uniforms was a problem in an army that did not have uniforms for boys.

After seeing 13-year-old John McClay in an ill fitting uniform, Col. Wager Swayne of the 43rd Ohio told one of his officers, "If we have to raise this boy, we will have the clothe him differently. In the future have your company tailor remodel his clothes."

McClay also grew into his duties.

In the stroming of Decatur, Ala., McClay was a drummer, and for their safety, drummers had been ordered to stay behind by Swayne. When Swayne spotted McClain in the midst of battle, he upbraided him.

McClay told Swayne , "I could not see you going off and leaving me behind."

McClay subsequently became Swayne's orderly.

Drummed into the service

"Because of lower age restrictions placed on musicians a majority of the youngsters was mustered in that capacity," Keesee writes. "Army regulations pointedly spelled out that those unable to fulfill their musical duties were to be discharged. With the threat of being sent home, boys were kept busy learning the proper calls and beats as fast as possible - and there was a lot to comprehend. The drummer soon heard and learned what was meant by a tap, flam, drag and roll, to name several beats. These patterns, combined with different speeds like common and quick time, comprised the different calls of the Army."

That doesn't count the 20 patterns drummers were called on to know when buglers were not available.

No respecter of age

Disease that claimed so many during the Civil War did not spare the young.

"Private Charles C. Henderson of West Jefferson, Ohio, was armed and ready for the march after his Sept. 5, 1861 enlistment in company A, 40th Ohio," Keesee writes. But the boy who lied about his age died of disease in a Kentucky hospital the following February.

Likewise, Alonzo Roush at age 16 "enlisted to help his country, but never even saw the enemy," Keesee writes. "Before he could leave the state he was stricken with typhoid fever, sent home to recuperate and died in early October."

And "16-year-old Andrew J. Ward was buried in a Nashville cemetery after his life was claimed by chronic diarrhea in July 1863," Keesee writes. "He had enlisted the previous November in Company E, 113th Ohio. Personal effects sent home included "a portfolio, pen knife, pocket book and spy glass."

Bad news from home

If those at home worried about young soldiers in the field, some soldiers in the field had to endure grief in the field as the result of tragedy at home.

Fifteen at the time of his enlistment in 1861, drummer John S. Kountz of the 37th Ohio had lost his mother a few years before the war and would lose his father and sister during the war.

Admired by others in the regiment after he risked life crashing through ice to try to save a man on the Kanawha River in West Virginia in December 1862, Kountz came to manhood in the Army.

He would become a charismatic enough figure in later life to be elected National Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, then the country's largest veterans' organization.

More battles than years

We'll conclude with the story of John Cook of Cincinnati, who served as a bugler and cannoneer and was awarded the Medal of Honor for deeds performed before most people in our time graduate from high school.

A regimental historian from the Army of the Potomac wrote this about Cook's actions in May of 1864 at the Battle of Bethesda Church. "It was at least his 20th battle, and he was still less than 17 years old .... His time was out, he had his honarable discharge in his pocket, and was only awaiting transportation to go home."

But when the battle came, "away he went following the Old Man along the pike and blowing his bugle as lustily as ever, while the enemy's canister cut down the brush by the side of the road or screamed over our heads."

Cook's actions seem to warrant his being granted the title Keesee mentions in the subtitle of "Too Young To Die."

He was, indeed, a boy soldier of the Union Army.

Sprinfield News-Sun, Monday April 22, 2002
(Images added for online viewing, not from original article)

Finally the truth about Johhny Clem

This is a big format book with lots of photos similar to other big format books by Blue Acorn Press and it offers a touching perspective of the

under 18 crowd in the Union Army. While filled with lots of short stories about youths in the Civil War, in also carves out new and important territory in two areas. 1) The author's statistical research on the distribution by age of the under 18 crowd combined with a detailed explaintaion of the Army's evolving regulations regarding the enlistment of children is excellent. 2) The extensively researched and deconflicting story of what really happened with the famous drummer boy Johnny Clem is the crown jewel of this book. If you want to finally know the truth

about Johnny Clem then you need wait no longer. Keesee carefully proves the facts, while leaving room for some speculation on issues that can never be completely proven. While exposing many myths and distortions he still manages to keep Clem's dignity in tact largely due to his lengthy service to his country, which did include combat experience as a child. As a researcher who grew up in the hometown of Johnny Clem's Civil War regiment the 22nd Michigan Infantry. I am grateful that Mr. Keesee has finally put this story to rest. I have endured numerous erroneous tellings of Clem's story by reputable authors, the National Park Service, professional Civil War lecturers, and a full length Walt Disney movie (Johnny Shiloh). Clem's myth is proof that if a story is told long enough and often enough that it becomes accepted as the truth. We had to wait nearly 140 years for a professional historical treatment of a famous American. Thanks Mr. Keesee.

Reviewer: Thomas E. Crew for Amazon.com, from Long Beach, MS USA - July 30, 2001
(Image added for online viewing, not from original review)

Civil War writer returning home with new book
Gazette staff reports

Dennis Keesee published his first words in The Delaware Gazette's Pacer on Monday, Sept. 19, 1988 in an article headlined "A Delaware Countian in the Union Army."

Now, 14 years later, Keesee is returning to Delaware to celebrate the publication of his book, Too Young To Die: Boy Soldiers of the Union Army 1861-1865.

Keesee will be at the Delaware County District Library, 84 E. Winter St., on Tuesday to present a program on the history of the Civil War. Keesee's story is told through the eyes of the war's "boy soldiers," children who joined the Union Army as young as 8 years old. Keesee will discuss his research, much of which has been done through photographs and letters, and answer questions from the audience.

Drawn from extensive primary resources, Too Young To Die brings to life hundreds of the Union Army's most youthful soldiers in enlightening and vivid fashion. Keesee blends a wide range of narrative and anecdotes written by or about Union boy soldiers with 213 photographs and illustrations. More than 100 Ohioans from all over the state are featured in the book along with many other soldiers from other states.

Keesee's research uncovered interesting and poignant stories, such as the child who accidentally shot a bunkmate and the young man who had to search ladies' petticoats to make sure they weren't hiding weapons. He will share these stories throughout his program.

A native Buckeye and resident of New Albany, where he owns a pizza shop, Keesee has collected Civil war memorabilia and photographs with an emphasis on young soldiers for the past 20 years, contributing articles and historical images to several periodicals.

Keesee has traveled throughout the U.S. as a guest speaker at hundreds of libraries and organizations. One of the most popular signings he did was at the July 4, 2001 re-enactment at Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania. He has also been feautured on television and radio programs.

Tuesday's program at the library, co-sponsored by the Delaware County Historical Society and the Delaware County Genealogical Society, will begin at 6:30 p.m. with an autograph session. Keesee's book will be available for purchase. The presentation will begin at 7:30 p.m.

For more information, contact the library at 740-362-3861 or visit the Web site at www.delaware.lib.oh.us.

The Delaware Gazette