St. Paul daily globe., 1889-03-17
THE YOUNGEST SOLDIER.
He Turns Up Again and This Time
Was just Twelve.

"What's the matter, old comrade,
what ails you?'
The reporter, who had just boarded
motor at Third street, looked to the
door, where yigor0uS-looking man had
just entered and was standing leaning
over the wasted figure of a little old
man who wore the unmiStakable habiii-
ments of the veteran who has spent his
best life and energy in the four years of
service, and now lives only in the re-
membrance the past and the triumphS
of those days, and has no new ambitions
or purposes. The rusty slouch hat over
the grizzly gray hair of the old man
bore a faded guilt cord, and on the
that the veterans wear. He held
strong cane, by the aid of which he
shifted his position seeming to be suf-
fering.
"What ails you?"
''Tm getting old, sir, Pm getting old,
and | suppose these pains and aches
come with old age
''What post do you belong TOP"
Il haven't been here long, I'm just
stopping, and | can do enough to live
when I'm not too bad, but I'm failing.'
''Fm of Plummer post; we meet to-
night: wish you could get around"
car had been attracted to the two as they
sat talking, and they commented on the
youthful appearance of the younger
man. He did not look to be over thir-
ty-five.
At Twenty-seventh street the motor
stopped for the old man to get Off, and
as he tottered to his feet he showed
how weak he was. AS they reached the
door he nearly fell, whereupon this self
appointed guardian picked him up and
carried HIM through the mud to the
walk, where another gentleman, evil
IDENTIFY an old soldier, who had rode out
in an opposite seat. took him in charge,
ana the robust veteran returned to the
car, and, as he seated himself next the
reporter, said:
There's sergeant down at WaSeca,
Jake Pierce, his name is, who's carried
me on his back often enough when /
was kid in the service Oh bad DAYS
like this, that it's nothing more than is
due for me to help some of the old
Ones"
You must have been young when
you entered the serviee?"
''Weli, yes, I was. The fact is, was
the youngest man enlisted from Minne-
sofa. l was just twelve years old when
I went into Company f of the Fifth
Minnesota infantry as private, and a
wee bit of shaver was, too, to carry
a gun.
II don't suppose could have stood
it," he continued, as he got off at the
Twenty-eighth street crossing, ''if l had
had to lug it very long, but was made
drummer pretty soon, and the boys took
good care of me. | was a bell boy at
the Windsor hotel in ST. Paul when the
war broke out, and every company that
was formed [ tried to get into, and
finally made it in January of '62. when
enlisted at Fort Smelling. [ was chief
musician of the regiment when was
discharged in '65.
''What is your name? did not know
that the youngest man from Minnesota
lived in the city"
MY name is William Metzger. No,
never told anyone SO it would go into
the papers. Idon't intend to either, be-
cause there are so many frauds about
such things that people don't believe
man when he tries to spread his own
story. Well, I'll have to tell you good
bye now. Here's where [ live. Here's
my kid; he's drummer already" and
he threw the little fellow on his shoul-
der and went up to a very pleasant
home on Pleasant avenue, wholly inno-
cent that he had told his own story
where it would be told again.