Teens of the Civil War

American history has never seen another war like it. The Civil War (1861-65)  was the bloody conflict between the predominately Northern states of the Union and the Southern states of the Confederacy. The conflict made countryman fight against countryman, and even in some cases brother against brother. But it wasn’t just adults on the battlefield. Many of the soldiers were teenagers.

In their book Of Age: Boy Soldiers and Military Power in the Civil War Era, historians Frances M. Clarke and Rebecca Jo Plant estimate that more than 200,000 Americans under the age of 18 served for the Union. Teens made up 10 percent of all Union troops. About the same proportion made up Confederate fighters. The official minimum age to enlist in the Union Army was 18.  Many younger people—some as young as 10—lied about their birthdays to fight. The Confederate Army had no minimum age requirement.

Teens had many different reasons for joining the fight.  Many did so because they believed in the cause. Others wanted adventure or pay to send back home. But no matter their motives, says Plant, military leaders “viewed them as indispensable.”

Boys weren’t the only ones involved in the war effort. Many girls also helped, taking over duties at home and on farms. Some even disguised themselves as men to fight. For the many Black teenagers who chose to fight, the war carried even greater stakes because a Union victory would mean freedom.

These are the stories of five teens who played important roles in the Civil War.

Sixteen-year-old Theodore Upson was husking corn on his farm in Indiana in April 1861. A neighbor came rushing over with news that Confederate forces had fired at Union troops at Fort Sumter in South Carolina (see timeline, below).

The Battle of Fort Sumter kicked off the Civil War. But the conflict over slavery had been going on for some time. Slavery was banned in the North, but more than 4 million people were enslaved in the South and in border states. Southern states relied on slavery for their economy, and they feared that the 1860 election of President Abraham Lincoln would end slavery. Months after Lincoln’s election, Southern states broke away, forming the Confederate States of America (see map, above).

The matter of slavery deeply concerned Theodore. When he was 15, he spent the summer attending abolitionist meetings with relatives in Michigan. When the war broke out, he was eager to enlist. He joined the Union army at 17 years old. He fought in 25 battles, coming face-to-face with the horrors of the deadliest war in American history. More than 600,000 people died during The Civil War.

“It was a terrible sight,” Theodore wrote in his diary after a battle in Georgia. “There was a boy with a broken arm and leg . . . and beside him, cold in death, lay his Father, two brothers, and an Uncle. It was a harvest of death.”

When Andrew Jackson Smith joined the Union Army at 19, he wasn’t doing so just for the sake of the nation—but for his freedom. Andrew had been born into slavery in 1843 in Grand Rivers, Kentucky, to a Black mother and a White slaveholder. When Andrew’s father tried to get him to join the Confederate Army, the teenager ran away and sought refuge with a Union regiment in Kentucky.

President Lincoln had said that his main aim in the war was to preserve the Union, not end slavery. Because of that, the Union Army initially barred most African Americans. But eventually, says John Stauffer, a historian at Harvard University, Lincoln “recognized that with [Black soldiers], we will win the war. Without them, we won’t.”

When Andrew Jackson Smith joined the Union Army at 19, he wasn’t doing so just for the sake of the nation—but for his freedom. Andrew had been born into slavery in 1843 in Grand Rivers, Kentucky, to a Black mother and a White slaveholder. Andrew’s father tried to get him to join the Confederate Army. But the teenager ran away and sought protection with a Union regiment in Kentucky.

President Lincoln had said that his main aim in the war was to preserve the Union, not end slavery. Because of that, the Union Army initially barred most African Americans. But eventually, says John Stauffer, a historian at Harvard University, Lincoln “recognized that with [Black soldiers], we will win the war. Without them, we won’t.”

On January 1, 1863, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. It declared that enslaved people in any of the states that remained in rebellion “are, and henceforward shall be free.” It was a strategic move because it allowed about 200,000 Black men, including Andrew, to join the Union Army and Navy. They served in segregated units led by White officers.

On November 30, 1864, the color bearer from Andrew’s unit was killed during a battle in South Carolina. Andrew took up the flag, dodging enemy fire. That act of valor earned him the Medal of Honor.

  The bravery of Black soldiers like Andrew helped lead the Union to victory.  The passage of the 13th Amendment abolished slavery, except as a punishment for a crime.

Women played critical roles in the war. They served as nurses and spies. They also ran farms and businesses while the men were off fighting. But Lizzie Compton wasn’t content to remain on the sidelines. So the 14-year-old dressed up in men’s clothes and enlisted in the Union Army.

 Lizzie was one of hundreds of girls and women who disguised themselves as men to fight in the war. During this time, women were not only prevented from serving in combat but also couldn’t vote and had limited property rights. They also had limited educational and job opportunities.

Lizzie was caught lying about her identity multiple times during her 18 months of service. She was discovered by doctors treating her for injuries, which included shrapnel and bullet wounds. Each time, she was discharged from the Army. She would reenlist with another unit using the name  “Jack” or “Johnny.” She served in at least seven different regiments. In 1864, she was arrested in New York for trying to enlist as a man.

Her story speaks to the determination many women showed during the Civil War, says DeAnne Blanton, co-author of They Fought Like Demons: Women Soldiers in the Civil War.

Nineteenth-century gender roles were so strict that “women wearing pants was considered radical,” says Blanton. And yet, she adds, “there were women who were soldiers and . . . risked their lives.”

Dawn broke on September 17, 1862, and 15-year-old John Cook marched into battle with Union troops, carrying only a bugle. Field musicians like John were considered so essential to the war that every Civil War company had at least two: a drummer and a bugler or fifer.

Often they were young boys, since musicians were allowed to enlist from age 12 with parental consent. They played music to rally troops and boost morale—and even to direct soldiers in battle. Certain drumrolls, for instance, meant “attack now,” while others meant “retreat.”

But on this day, John would end up doing much more. It was the Battle of Antietam in Maryland— the single bloodiest day in American military history—and John’s unit was under fire from Confederate forces. When an officer was wounded, John helped him to the rear. There, he discovered that most of the Union cannoneers had been killed.

John later recounted what he did next: “Seeing the cannoneers nearly all down, and one, with a pouch full of ammunition, lying dead, I unstrapped the pouch, started for the battery and worked as a cannoneer.”

John continued to operate the cannon as Confederate troops rushed within 15 feet of him. His bravery helped the Union win the battle—and made him one of the youngest soldiers ever to receive the Medal of Honor.

On the morning of September 17, 1862, 15-year-old John Cook marched into battle with Union troops, carrying only a bugle. Field musicians like John were considered so essential to the war that every Civil War company had at least two: a drummer and a bugler or fifer.

Often they were young boys, since musicians were allowed to enlist from age 12 with parental permission. They played music to rally troops and boost morale. They  would also direct soldiers in battle. Certain drumrolls, for instance, meant “attack now,” while others meant “retreat.”

But on this day, John would end up doing much more. It was the Battle of Antietam in Maryland—the single bloodiest day in American military history. John’s unit was under fire from Confederate forces. When an officer was wounded, John helped him to the back. There, he discovered that most of the Union cannoneers had been killed.

 John later explained what he did next: “Seeing the cannoneers nearly all down, and one, with a pouch full of ammunition, lying dead, I unstrapped the pouch, started for the battery and worked as a cannoneer.”

John continued to operate the cannon as Confederate troops rushed within 15 feet of him. His bravery helped the Union win the battle. He became one of the youngest soldiers ever to receive the Medal of Honor.

Every morning when Susie King Taylor was 7 years old, she would set out from her grandmother’s home in Savannah, Georgia. She would carry a book wrapped in paper. The young enslaved girl would walk a half-mile to the house of her grandmother’s friend, a free Black woman. She would teach Susie how to read and write. This was no ordinary act. In fact, it could have gotten her killed.

Susie had been born into slavery in Georgia in 1848, when the state had strict laws prohibiting education for African Americans. But she attended secret schools. In April 1862 at age 14, she fled to Union-occupied territory in Georgia.

She began to teach at a children’s school for free Black people. She also served as a nurse and laundress for a segregated Black Union regiment. While treating battle wounds and illnesses, she taught the formerly enslaved soldiers how to read and write.

In 1902, Taylor published a book*—the only Civil War memoir published by an African American woman. The book documents life for Black Americans during and after the war. Although the Civil War had led to the prohibition of slavery, African Americans’ quest for equal rights was just beginning. Susie wrote of that long journey ahead: “Justice we ask—to be citizens of these United States, where so many of our people have shed their blood with their white comrades.” 

^{*Reminiscences of My Life in Camp with the 33d United States Colored Troops Late 1st S. C. Volunteers}

^{*Reminiscences of My Life in Camp with the 33d United States Colored Troops Late 1st S. C. Volunteers}