FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of Heroes: Drummer Boy Willie Johnston ~ 07 October 2019

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[Kathy in Alaska]

 

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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! 

[Kathy in Alaska]

HAPPY 18TH BIRTHDAY, CANTEEN!!

[The Mayor]

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

October 7

God’s Heart for Hypocrites

Bible in a Year : Isaiah 28–29; Philippians 3

She is more righteous than I. Genesis 38:26 “I’d be very disappointed if one of our team members did that,” said a cricket player, referring to a South African cricketer who’d cheated in a match in 2016. But only two years later, that same player was caught in a nearly identical scandal.

Few things rankle us more than hypocrisy. But in the story of Judah in Genesis 38, Judah’s hypocritical behavior nearly had deadly consequences. After two of his sons died soon after marrying Tamar, Judah had quietly abandoned his duty to provide for her needs (vv. 8–11). In desperation, Tamar disguised herself by wearing a prostitute’s veil, and Judah slept with her (vv. 15–16).

Yet when Judah learned that his widowed daughter-in-law was pregnant, his reaction was murderous. “Bring her out and have her burned to death!” he demanded (v. 24). But Tamar had proof that Judah was the father (v. 25).

Judah could have denied the truth. Instead he admitted his hypocrisy, and also accepted his responsibility to care for her, saying, “She is more righteous than I” (v. 26).

And God wove even this dark chapter of Judah and Tamar’s story into His story of our redemption. Tamar’s children (vv. 29–30) would become ancestors of Jesus (Matthew 1:2–3).

Why is Genesis 38 in the Bible? One reason is because it’s the story of our hypocritical human hearts—and of God’s heart of love, grace, and mercy.

By:  Tim Gustafson

Reflect & Pray

How do you react when you become aware of your hypocrisy? What would happen if we all became truly transparent with each other?

Help me to see, Father, that at the heart of the matter, we’re all hypocrites who need Your forgiveness.

[The Mayor]

WOW, and I’ve been here for all 18 of them..... Happy Birthday!!!

[left that other site]

Hi Everybody!

(((HUGS)))

[left that other site]

Happy Eighteenth Birthday to The Canteen!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Mayor, and thank you for today’s sustenance for body and soul.

All rested and ready to take on more organizing at your new place? Don’t forget to rest!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Thanks for posting The Daily Bread for those 18 years.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Hello Veterans, wherever you are!!

[radu]

Greetings to all at the Canteen!

To all our military men and women, past and present,

[radu]

Howdy, Kathy.

Wow, the Canteen has been here that long? Time sure does fly!

[luvie]

!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, ML...((HUGS))...did you and your new jacket and Blue get to sally forth today?

We are looking at rain early week, then snow that won’t stick, but it’s getting close. Just enough, I think, to make driving horrible.

[luvie]

Heroes come in all sizes and all ages. God bless that young man for his heroism and patriotism!

[The Mayor]

Thank you Kathy! Start again tomorrow for sure.

We have a long history with the canteen, I know I used to only post morning coffee,
then gradually started with Daily Bread. Many very active threads with me early on too.
It’s been a fun adventure for sure.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, radu...still raining? Did you get enough rain to make a difference?

[radu]

Hey there, Kathy.

No rain here today, though it’s been raining west and north of us pretty much all day. Just will not come here. *sigh*
We’re supposed to get more sometime in the wee hours but we’ll see how that goes.

We got an inch last night and that helps but we need a lot more. We’ll take what we can get though.

Are your temps getting cold enough for snow yet?

[radu]

Howdy, LUV.

Did you get enough sleep so your head wouldn’t bow in church for the wrong reasons? :-)

I hope you’re benefitting from the cold front moving across the country. It was nice and cool here today. A welcome change!

[Kathy in Alaska]

So young, but he knew what he needed to do. Yes, God Bless him.

[luvie]

I did get enough sleep. I shut down fairly early and Peaches wasn’t too annoying. LOL!

It’s been windy since about 8pm and the temp is now 67. Very nice. The kitties are nervous because of the change, but they have their hidey-holes to hunker down in and last time I looked out, no one was hovering around the door.

Glad it’s cooled down there, too. Did you get a lot of wind with it? Hope it didn’t stir up your allergies too badly.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Nights getting colder...possible snow later in the week when the nights dip into the 20s. Won’t stick yet because the days are still in the 40s.