FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of Heroes: Drummer Boy Willie Johnston ~ 16 May 2022

Serving The Best Troops and Veterans In The World !! | The Canteen Crew

[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! 

[radu]

We have rotten luck with just about ANY celestial event. Eclipses, meteor showers, you name it.
It wouldn’t bother me quite as much tonight if we’d gotten some rain with these clouds.

[radu]

I sincerely do take pleasure in it. I’m having the time of my life honoring the museum’s mission statement ...... “to honor our military and educate the younger generations.” Seeing people’s faces light up when they see the different artifacts on display - civilians and veterans alike - and doing what I can to breathe a little life into them is what it’s all about. And it’s a learning experience for me as well. I learn little bits here and there from the veterans and I eat that up.

I have a pretty good idea of what you mean. Other veterans have said the same thing to me over the years.

I’ll graciously accept your thanks if you’ll accept mine. Deal? :-)

[TigerHawk]

Witnessed my first and only total lunar eclipse under the most atmospherically perfect conditions in the dry Judean desert of Israel (not even light pollution), back in ‘86, ‘87? The best thing about it was that it was a total surprise. Had no idea it was coming. I had a video camera at hand and captured the entire event from, “What’s happening?” to, “Wow was that unreal???”

The live event was awesome, as watching it is actually participating in it! The video was more boring than watching a boulder erode.

If you’ve never actually witnessed one I strongly encourage you to do so. You’ve got three more chances to do so in the next three months. MAKE EVERY EFFORT...G-D WILL DO THE REST.

[TigerHawk]

DEAL!

[radu]

I’ve seen several eclipses over the years but have missed several too. Like tonight. It really is much better ‘live’ than on video, like the live stream I’ve been watching.
I never got to see it in desert climes, like you did, but here on the farm, there’s very little light pollution.

I’ve only found one more lunar eclipse listed online, in November. There are super moons the next three months, though, and I like those a lot. I can walk around the farm and not need a flashlight ....... provided it isn’t cloudy. LOL

I can see the sliver of the moon again now but it’s fuzzy. Just enough cloud cover to keep us from seeing the eclipse while it was in totality. :-(

[radu]

[TigerHawk]

I might have misread or misunderstood what I read. I’ll have to check soon, but for tonight, I’ve got to bed down.

SLEEP WELL.

[luvie]

Well, that stinks...but at least you get to see something. It was pretty just as the moon was a tiny wedge. The rest of it was reddish. My picture wasn’t focused very well so I deleted it. LOL!

[radu]

It’s quite possible. There are a lot of things about the moon and it starts running together.

Get a good night’s sleep.
I still have a few hours before pillow time since I’m back on regular “vampire” schedule .... til next weekend. LOL

[Kathy in Alaska]

Hope you and your friend with the engine scanner, code reader make quick work of finding and fixing the problem.

[radu]

It does stink. I haven’t been able to get a shot of a blood moon since I got the Nikon with the great zoom. I have a couple of partial eclipses with it but it’s not the same.
I’m really irked at the moment because now I can see the “face” on the moon. The clouds have cleared that much. NOT FAIR!! LOL

I need to head outside for a few to hose the ton of pollen off the car. It needs to be done and it’s comfortable outside. Just stinky since there wasn’t any rain to deal with that poo stench.

[The Mayor]

Me too, thank you

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening/morning, Mooch...it is warm and getting warmer. 60+ for at least the next week, then higher...that is getting hot. No air conditioning, but I do have fans.

Right now I want a really good cleansing rain to wash away the winter and spring dust and dirt.

Hope your air conditioning is in good working order.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Oh...thanks for the YouTube reminder. I can check there later.

[E.G.C.]

A very pleasant good Monday morning and ((HUGS)) to everyone at the Canteen and to all our military at home and abroad. Thanks for your service to our country.

How's everyone doing this morning?

[luvie]

No rain? I was hoping you’d get some and it was smelling better there. Have fun de-pollening the car. It is a nasty bunch of stuff for sure.

They were calling it a “rainbow” moon. Not sure why. I should have gotten out the telescope to look through, but it’s so darn heavy! I love that it’s a very good quality one that hubby got me, but I really wish it were more accessible.

[radu]

You can at least watch replays and see how pretty it was while in totality. Still not the same as standing outside and seeing it overhead.

I just came in from hosing the pollen off the car and really need to hose myself to cool off. The sky is clear now! GRRRRRRRRRRR Still hazy enough that stars aren’t visible but the moon being so bright has something to do with that.

[radu]

Howdy, E.G.C. ((HUGZ))

Did you and Gizmo have a larger crowd to deal with at the lake yesterday or were you lucky again?

[radu]

Nope. Nary a drop here. A large batch ran across the west end of the state earlier tonight but it missed us as it moved south. We really need some rain now because it’s getting dusty-dry.

The car is blue again. LOL It had some pollen on it last week from the trees around here but it got loaded at the museum this weekend. I hope those trees calm down by next weekend.

Who was calling it a rainbow moon? I never heard anyone say that when talking about it the past couple of days.
It was a beautiful shade of red on the livestream I watched.

I hear ya on heavy telescopes. The one Hubby bought for me several years ago weighs 100 pounds with the tripod. I can’t begin to move it and have only used it a couple of times. Not recently. Hubby won’t move it outside any more.

For moon viewing, that little Nikon’s zoom works really well but there was no reason to grab it tonight. *sigh*

[E.G.C.]

Well, there were some people out at the lake dishing and recreating including a couple with a dog and it was also a little bit warm too, but we had a great time and also had supper from KFC before the trip.

It's supposed to be a little bit "cooler" today if you call 85 cool but then it goes back up to near 100 tomorrow: