FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of Heroes: Drummer Boy Willie Johnston ~ May 6, 2013

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[Kathy in Alaska]

 

Our Troops Rock!  Thank you for all you do!

For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday...
Thank the Veterans who served
in The United States Armed Forces.

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---

~ Hall of Heroes ~

Drummer Boy Willie Johnston
Info from here and here.

           

William E. "Willie" Johnston, drummer boy of Company D, 3rd Vermont Infantry, has the distinction of being the youngest soldier to ever receive the Medal of Honor, presented to him at age 11 for gallantry on the battlefield in the Seven Day Battle Peninsula Campaign of 1862. Young Johnston is the subject of a book written, Mr. Lincoln's Drummer, written by G. Clifton Wisler.

In the Soldiers' Record of the town of St. Johnsonbury, Vermont, it is written:

Born in Warrentown, St. Lawrence County, N. Y. Son of William Johnson, member of Company B, 3d Regiment. Resided with his father in St. Johnsbury when he enlisted. Age twelve years. Enlisted in Company D, 3d Regiment, May 1, 1862. Mustered into United States service same day. Drummer. Re-enlisted at Brandy Station, Va., February 15, 1864. Transferred to Company H, February 15, 1864, and thence, as Drum Major, of 20th Regiment of Veteran Reserve Corps. Mustered out of service December 30, 1864.

Willie was with the 3d Regiment in the tedious and hazardous conflicts of the seven days campaign in the Peninsula, and received from the Secretary of War a star medal for heroic conduct during this time. This conduct was meritorious beyond that of other drummers, in so much as he retained his drum and brought it off on the retreat, while they, to lessen their burdens, threw theirs away. Upon reaching Harrison's Landing Willie's was the only drum to be found for use at the division parade.

 

William "Willie" Johnston (born July 1850), from St. Johnsbury, Vermont, was a drummer boy in Company D of the 3rd Vermont Infantry. His service during the Seven Days retreat in the Peninsula Campaign was exemplary. He was the only drummer in his division to come away with his instrument, by no means a trivial accomplishment. As a result, he received the Medal of Honor on the recommendation of his division commander, thereby becoming the youngest recipient of the highest decoration at 13 years of age.

Johnston was born in Morristown, New York in 1850. Apparently his family moved to Salem, Vermont (now Derby). When his father enlisted in December, 1861, young Willie begged to go with him. The commanding officer agreed. He was enlisted as a drummer boy on December 11, 1861 in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. He was 11 years old and five feet tall.

Johnston's first fight was at Lee's Mill, Virginia, on April 16, 1862.

During his next campaign, the Seven Days Battles from June 25 to July 1, 1862, Johnston was cited for bravery.

During that retreat many men threw away all their equipment so they would have less weight to carry. Johnston, however, retained his drum and brought it safely to Harrison's Landing. There, he had the honor of drumming for the division parade, he being the only drummer boy to bring his instrument off the battlefields. Johnston's division commander noted this fact and included them in his report. President Lincoln heard the story and wrote Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, suggesting the youth be given a medal. Stanton agreed, and Willie Johnston was presented his Medal of Honor September 16, 1863, at the age of 13, for a deed performed when he was but 11 years of age.

This was the second Medal of Honor ever awarded. Secretary Stanton presented the actual award.

There is no Medal of Honor Citation as the date and place of act are not on record in War Department. Until the establishment of the Medal of Honor there was only one medal a soldier could receive: a Purple Heart. However, since the Purple Heart had not been awarded since the Revolutionary War, and would not be used again until World War I, the Medal of Honor was effectively the only award available to U.S. military personnel at the time of the Civil War.

Please remember the Canteen is here to honor, support and entertain our troops and their families.  This is a politics-free zone!  Thanks for helping us in our mission! 

[ConorMacNessa]

REQUEST PERMISSION TO COME ABOARD



CHARLESTOWN, Mass. (Jan. 14, 2008) The first major snowfall of the New Year blankets the USS Constitution. Despite the weather "Old Ironsides," remained open for free public tours. At 210 years-old, USS Constitution is the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world, manned by 67 active-duty United States Sailors and visited by nearly half a million visitors annually. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Eric Brown (Released)

GOD BLESS AND PROTECT OUR TROOPS AND OUR BELOVED NATION!!!





Boston, Oct. 21, 2009 - Boatswains Mate 2nd Class Philip Gagnon pipes as USS Constitution performs an underway demonstration in honor of the three-masted wooden frigate's 212th birthday. (U.S. Navy photo by Airman Mark Alexander/Released).
(Click for Bosun’s Whistle)



USS Constitution's 1812 Marine Guard fire vintage Springfield flintlock muskets during the ship's underway. "Old Ironsides" was underway for the "Constitution Day Cruise," which is conducted to thank the family and supporters of Constitution. U.S. Navy photo by Airman Nick Lyman (Released)

OUR TROOPS ROCK!!!!!!!

Genuflectimus non ad principem sed ad Principem Pacis!

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

[Kathy in Alaska]

Permission Granted!

[ConorMacNessa]

Good evening, Kathy and Star!

***HUGS***



Thanks very much – coming aboard! Rendering Hand Salutes to our National Colors and to the Officer of the Deck!

And thanks very much for tonight’s Hall of Heroes thread! Drummer Boy Willie Johnston is an outstanding addition to our Hall of Heroes!

Genuflectimus non ad principem sed ad Principem Pacis!

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

[Kathy in Alaska]

Please note: The author of the Hall of Heroes is StarCMC.

Please thank StarCMC for today’s thread.

~ Hall of Heroes: Drummer Boy Willie Johnston ~

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[BulletBobCo]

Hi Kathy!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Hello Veterans, wherever you are!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Hi there, BulletBob. Hope you and yours are well.

[yarddog]

The little boy apparently treasured his drum.

A lot of people don’t realize that General McClellan nearly captured Richmond early in the war.

He was only stopped when Robert E. Lee was appointed commander of The Army of Northern Virginia. He immediately began a series of fierce and costly but necessary attacks, driving Little Mac back down the peninsula.

[Kathy in Alaska]

[ConorMacNessa]

Welcome To All Who Enter This Canteen, To Our Serving Military, To Our Veterans, To All Military Families, To Our FRiends and To Our Allies!



Missing Man Setting

"The Empty Chair"

By Captain Carroll "Lex" Lefon, USN (RET), on December 21st, 2004

"In the wardroom onboard the aircraft carrier from which I recently debarked was a small, round table, with single chair. No one ever sat there, and the reasons, both for the table being there, and for the fact that the chair was always empty, will tell the reader a little bit about who we are as a culture. The wardroom, of course, is where the officers will dine; morning, noon and evening. It is not only a place to eat – it is also a kind of oasis from the sometimes dreary, often difficult exigencies of the service. A place of social discourse, of momentary relief from the burdens of the day. The only things explicitly forbidden by inviolable tradition in the wardroom are the wearing of a cover or sword by an officer not actually on watch, or conversation which touches upon politics or religion. But aboard ships which observe the custom, another implicit taboo concerns the empty chair: No matter how crowded the room, no matter who is waiting to be seated, that chair is never moved, never taken.

The table is by the main entrance to the wardroom. You will see it when you enter, and you will see it when you leave. It draws your eyes because it is meant to. And because it draws your eyes it draws your thoughts. And though it will be there every day for as long as you are at sea, you will look at it every time and your eyes will momentarily grow distant as you think for a moment. As you quietly give thanks.

AS YOU REMEMBER.

The small, round table is covered with a gold linen tablecloth. A single place setting rests there, of fine bone china. A wineglass stands upon the table, inverted, empty. On the dinner plate is a pinch of salt. On the bread plate is a slice of lemon. Besides the plate lies a bible. There is a small vase with a single red rose upon the table. Around the vase is wound a yellow ribbon. There is the empty chair.

We will remember because over the course of our careers, we will have had the opportunity to enjoy many a formal evening of dinner and dancing in the fine company of those with whom we have the honor to serve, and their lovely ladies. And as the night wears on, our faces will in time become flushed with pleasure of each other’s company, with the exertions on the dance floor, with the effects of our libations. But while the feast is still at its best, order will be called to the room – we will be asked to raise our glasses to the empty table, and we will be asked to remember:

The table is round to show our everlasting concern for those who are missing. The single setting reminds us that every one of them went to their fates alone, that every life was unique.

The tablecloth is gold symbolizing the purity of their motives when they answered the call to duty.

The single red rose, displayed in a vase, reminds us of the life of each of the missing, and their loved ones who kept the faith.

The yellow ribbon around the vase symbolizes our continued determination to remember them.

The slice of lemon reminds us of the bitterness of their fate.
The salt symbolizes the tears shed by those who loved them.
The bible represents the faith that sustained them.
The glass is inverted — they cannot share in the toast.
The chair is empty — they are not here. They are missing.

And we will remember, and we will raise our glasses to those who went before us, and who gave all that they had for us. And a part of the flush in our faces will pale as we remember that nothing worth having ever came without a cost. We will remember that many of our brothers and sisters have paid that cost in blood. We will remember that the reckoning is not over.

We many of us will settle with our families into our holiday season, our Christmas season for those who celebrate it, content in our fortune and prosperity. We will meet old friends with smiles and laughter. We will meet our members of our family with hugs. We will eat well, and exchange gifts and raise our glasses to the year passed in gratitude, and to the year to come with hope. We will sleep the sleep of the protected, secure in our homes, secure in our homeland.

But for many families, there will be an empty chair at the table this year. A place that is not filled.

WE SHOULD REMEMBER."

Thanks To Alfa6 For Finding Capt. Lefon's Chronicle Of "The Empty Chair."

Robert Schumann – “Traumerei”
(Click)
Never Forget The Brave Men And Women Who Gave Their Lives To Secure Our Freedom!!

Genuflectimus non ad principem sed ad Principem Pacis!

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

[left that other site]

Hi Everybody!
((((HUGS))))

[mountainlion]

Heroes come in all sorts of size, color and age. I am again short of words.

[SandRat]

[ConorMacNessa]

BAND OF BROTHERS

WORLD WAR II

Members of the 101st Airborne Division "Screaming Eagles"
June 7, 1944 at Ste.Marie du Mont, France

"This day is call'd the feast of Crispian.
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is named,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say, "To-morrow is Saint Crispian."
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say, "These wounds I had on Crispin's day."

KOREA

Members of the "Chosin Few", 1st Marine Division
Chosin Reservoir, Korea, December 1950


"Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember with advantages
What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words,
Harry the King, Bedford, and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester,
Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb'red.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered."

VIETNAM

FMF Corpsman D. R. Howe treats the wounds of Pfc. D. A. Crum, "H" Company, 2nd Battalion, Fifth Marine Regiment, during Operation Hue City.


"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day."

AFGHANISTAN

Soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division in action, Afghanistan, 2011


"Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more,
Or close the wall up with our English dead.
In peace there's nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility;
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage;
Then lend the eye a terrible aspect;
Let it pry through the portage of the head
Like the brass cannon; let the brow o'erwhelm it
As fearfully as does a galled rock
O'erhang and jutty his confounded base,
Swill'd with the wild and wasteful ocean."

(Henry V, Act IV, Scene iii)


THE STRUGGLE AGAINST TYRANNY GOES ON,
AS IT HAS FROM TIMES IMMEMORIAL.
THE BAND OF BROTHERS STILL STANDS FAST IN THE BREACH!

THEY HAVE OUR SIX!

Honor Them For Their Service And Sacrifice!

Genuflectimus non ad principem sed ad Principem Pacis!

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

[SandRat]

[Kathy in Alaska]

Thanks, mountainlion, for the heads up on this young hero.

[The Mayor]

Freep mail me to be on or off the Daily Bread ping list

Always Preparing
May 6, 2013

While my son was home for an extended visit, he knocked on my office door one morning and asked me what I was doing. “I’m preparing for Sunday school,” I told him. Then, thinking about all the time I spend in my office, I said, “It seems like I’m always preparing for something.”

I’m grateful for the opportunities God gives me to reach out to others. There’s some stress, though, when you’re always getting something ready for somebody. It’s hard to balance priorities with the pressure to prepare a lesson, a message, or a document continually on your mind.

This idea of constant preparation intrigued me, so I checked the Bible to see if it talks about the subject. I found that we are called to always be preparing. A heart dedicated to God must be prepared to serve Him (1 Sam. 7:3). We are to be ready to do good works (2 Tim. 2:21) and to defend scriptural truth (1 Peter 3:15). And Paul reminds us that even our giving takes planning (2 Cor. 9:5).

That’s just a start. Living a life that pleases the Lord takes mental, spiritual, and physical preparation. But we don’t need to stress, because He will enable us with His power. Let’s ask God to guide us as we prepare to serve, honor, and tell others about Him.

Savior, like a shepherd lead us,
Much we need Thy tender care;
In Thy pleasant pastures feed us,
For our use Thy folds prepare. —Thrupp

The best preparation for tomorrow is the right use of today.

Read: 2 Timothy 2:19-26

If anyone cleanses himself from [dishonor], he will be a vessel for honor, . . . prepared for every good work. —2 Timothy 2:21

Bible in a Year:
1 Kings 21-22; Luke 23:26-56

[luvie]

My goodness, Galz! This is quite a story! Seems like patriotism can’t start too early! God rest his soul!

[luvie]

I’ve been on medical leave, so Mondays aren’t quite as bad as usual...but I sympathize with the ones that must trudge off to their jobs anyway. :)

((((hugs))))...and HI!