The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-07-19
BY MARION MILLER.

Copyright, 1896, by S. S. Mcclure Coz
Not to speak OF the wasted energy Of
manhood's prime" one of the greatest in
ulctments against the war is that it rob-
bed d generation OF the Youth of This
country of the prime of boyhood, the
last sweet days of careless ioyousness
IL transformed almost in an instant by
IT'S stern duties and grave responsibilities
the Aght-hearted lad into a man, strong
ana earnest, 1t is true, but yer Iacxis9s
the free and thoughtless spirit of vouf6
Haruly one of those who enlisted i'm 1871
ana 1907 came out IN 1865 with less than
ten Years added 10 his development, and
perhaps subtracted from his lire. In yIE-tT
OF th4s there is subtle pathos in the rnef
aDhor whereby the veterans deceive
themselves IN regard TO their loss by call
ing each other the boys"
A BABY RECRUIT.
1t is therefore very pleasant to record
an instance OF one little soldier VINO
passed through the most active scenes of
the war and emerged from it even more
OF a boy in spirit than when he entered
indeed, legally and almost literally he
was an infant, more baby than boy, when
ne enlisted. He was certainly still a
enid when he was mustered out
In the summer of 1862 a certain Lieuten-
ant EllWood came with a mule team and
three or four soldiers, recruiting for the
William, in Clinton county, Ohio. A
bright little fellow by The name of Gill
pert Faf1Zandt, native of the place.
volunteered to drum for him at the sol
olers meeting" held in the old brick
school house, and at it's close the lieu
tenant tossed him a fifry-cent piece the
hrst money the boy had ever earned. He
tnen was taken over the country by Cap
tam HICKS 10 drum for recruits, and, I'M
aSining that soldiers life was con-
tinuouS succession of such pleasant du-
ties, ne enlisted, August q, 1862, with
company ID. SEVENTEENTH Ohio volun-
teer infantry, as its drummer. At that
time he was 10 years, Z months and 10
days old, the date of his birth being De-
cember 20, 1851. The enlistment of the
little fellow was, after all, not Sucfl a
recruiting service had served as an easy
transition to army life. His school teach
er enlisted at the same time and was
soon promoted to the captaincy of the
company. In addition, with Little
Glib" as he was called, marched away
twenty young men of the neighborhood,
true friends his ideals of manhood,
whose departure, if he had been left be-
hind would have rendered him more gen
timely homesick than he ever was among
the familiar places of the army. Then,
too, he was engaged in the most delight
full task in the world, and one at which
med in the regimental band as well as
in the field, and so became the pet and
pride of the entire regiment.
BRAVE AND MODEST.
At Nashville, Tenn, the colonel had a
small sword made especially for him,
and the entire regiment followed the gift
with the present of a handsome drum
and shield. While here, the first of the
accompanying pictures was taken, Gill
bert being at the time a month or so
past the age of H.
Young as he was, there was no better
or more faithful soldier in Sherman's
army.
Indeed, it was his extreme youth that,
added to his natural disposition, tended to
keep him quiet and modest in demeanor,
while his love for his work rendered him
attentive to his duties. His comrades
looked out for him and saw that his will
lingness did not result in his injury.
When, after the battle of Resaca, the
duties of his position became too ardu-
GUS on account of the heavy marches, he
was detailed to act as Dispatch Carrier
at Division Headquarters. under General
Ward. In this capacity he served through