john clem essay
The History of John Lincoln Clem
Born on August 13, 1851 (at the time known as John Joseph Klem) John Clem ran away from home at 9 after the death of his mother in a train accident to become a Union Army drummer boy. He tried to enlist in the 3rd Ohio infantry, but was rejected because of his age and size. He also tried joining the 22nd Michigan, but they also refused him. He tagged along anyway and the 22nd eventually adopted him as a mascot and a drummer boy where Officers eventually let him officially enlist two years later. A story suggests that Clem served as a drummer boy with the 22nd Michigan at the Battle of Shiloh. "In that battle, Clem got into the very hottest of the fight. He came very near losing his life when a shrapnel shell exploded within a few feet of him. A fragment of the shell crashed through his drum and the shock of the explosion hurled him unconscious to the ground, where he was subsequently found and rescued by his bigger comrades." As the story suggests, he came very near to losing his life when a fragment from a shrapnel shell crashed through his drum, knocking him unconscious, subsequently his comrades who found and rescued him from the battlefield nicknamed him "Johnny Shiloh" though the validity of this is debated since the 22nd wasn't officially recognized until several months later. He gained fame for his bravery on the battlefield, becoming the youngest NCO in Army history. . John Clem would serve in the Army for most of his life and had become a national celebrity for his actions at Chickamauga, armed with a musket sawed down small enough for him to carry and riding a caisson, Clem joined the 22nd Michigan in the defense of Horseshoe Ridge on the afternoon of September 20. As the Confederate forces surrounded the unit, a Confederate colonel spotted Clem and shouted either “I think the best thing a mite of a chap like you can do is drop that gun” or called him a “damned
Born on August 13, 1851 (at the time known as John Joseph Klem) John Clem ran away from home at 9 after the death of his mother in a train accident to become a Union Army drummer boy. He tried to enlist in the 3rd Ohio infantry, but was rejected because of his age and size. He also tried joining the 22nd Michigan, but they also refused him. He tagged along anyway and the 22nd eventually adopted him as a mascot and a drummer boy where Officers eventually let him officially enlist two years later. A story suggests that Clem served as a drummer boy with the 22nd Michigan at the Battle of Shiloh. "In that battle, Clem got into the very hottest of the fight. He came very near losing his life when a shrapnel shell exploded within a few feet of him. A fragment of the shell crashed through his drum and the shock of the explosion hurled him unconscious to the ground, where he was subsequently found and rescued by his bigger comrades." As the story suggests, he came very near to losing his life when a fragment from a shrapnel shell crashed through his drum, knocking him unconscious, subsequently his comrades who found and rescued him from the battlefield nicknamed him "Johnny Shiloh" though the validity of this is debated since the 22nd wasn't officially recognized until several months later. He gained fame for his bravery on the battlefield, becoming the youngest NCO in Army history. . John Clem would serve in the Army for most of his life and had become a national celebrity for his actions at Chickamauga, armed with a musket sawed down small enough for him to carry and riding a caisson, Clem joined the 22nd Michigan in the defense of Horseshoe Ridge on the afternoon of September 20. As the Confederate forces surrounded the unit, a Confederate colonel spotted Clem and shouted either “I think the best thing a mite of a chap like you can do is drop that gun” or called him a “damned