12 Year Old Promoted To General Because Of This / The Story Of John Lincoln Clem
Channel: Through History
Date: 2024-01-19

Hello and welcome to my channel. Today we will be taking a look at the craziest moment in the army's history. We will learn the story of John Clem, a young boy who was a drummer boy but gets promoted into an army general because of what he did. Stick around to learn more of his story.















John Clem was born in Newark, Ohio on Agust 13, 1851. He ran away from home and his parents at the age of 9 after his mother died due to a train. He initially ended up in the army and tried to enlist in the infantry but was told he was too young and small. So he was put in the army but as a drummer boy for the Union army in the Civil War. The officers of the infantry that he drummed for raked up enough money to pay a normal soldier's pay of 13$ a month. He eventually built up a reputation through a legend that in the Battle of Shiloh, a piece of shrapnel hit his drum causing him to be knocked unconscious. This ended up giving him the nickname, “Johnny Shiloh”, but historical evidence later proved that he couldn't have been in the battle. Later on in his army career at the age of 12, he would end up retreating. As they were retreating, he would shoot and kill a Confederate colonel. After the battle, he was promoted to sergeant. He is the youngest soldier to be given such a title. He would later be decorated for his heroics at Chickamauga. In late 1863, he was captured by Confederate soldiers in Georgia. The soldiers took his uniform and his hat which had bullet holes in it. He was incredibly mad that they took his uniform.


After the Civil War, he graduated from high school in 1870 but, he still wanted to work in the army. But it would not be as smooth as he would have hoped because he failed the exam to enter into the military. Luckily the president at the time, Ulysses S. Grant, had heard of his story and appointed him as second lieutenant in an infantry regiment in 1871. He would be promoted to quartermaster in 1906. He was forced to retire from the military because of his age and was put on the retired list in 1916 as the rank of major general. He would later die in 1937 at the age of 86. He had a very long and successful life. 



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