Of Age : Boy Soldiers and Military Power in the Civil War Era

An innovative study of underage soldiers and their previously unrecognized impact on Civil War era America. The smooth faces of boy soldiers stand out in Civil War photography, their spindly physiques contrasting with the uniformed adults they stood alongside. Yet until now, scholars have largely overlooked the masses of underaged youths who served as musicians, carried wounded from the field, ran messages, took up arms, and died in both the Union and Confederate armies. Of Age is the first comprehensive study of how Americans responded to the unauthorized enlistment of minors in this conflict and the implications that followed. Frances M. Clarke and Rebecca Jo Plant offer military, legal, medical, social, political, and cultural perspectives as well as demographic analysis of this important aspect of the war. They find that underage enlistees comprised roughly ten percent of the Union army and likely a similar proportion of Confederate forces-but these enlistees' importance extended beyond sheer numbers. Clarke and Plant introduce common but largely unknown wartime scenarios. Boys who absconded without consent set off protracted struggles between households and the military, as parents used various arguments to recover their sons. State judges and the US federal government battled over whether to discharge boys discovered to be under age. African American youths discovered that both Union and Confederate officers ignored their evident age when using them as conscripts or military laborers. Meanwhile, nineteenth-century Americans expressed little concern over what exposure to violence might do to young minds, readily accepting their presence in battle. In fact, underage soldiers became prevalent symbols of the US war effort, shaping popular memory for decades to come. An original and sweeping work, Of Age convincingly demonstrates why underage enlistment is such an important lens for understanding the history of children and youth and the transformative effects of the US Civil War. "Enormous numbers of boys and youths served in the American Civil War. The first book to arrive at a careful estimate, Of Age argues that underage enlistees comprised roughly ten percent of the Union army and likely a similar proportion of Confederate forces. Their importance extended beyond sheer numbers. Boys who enlisted without consent deprived parents of badly needed labor and income to which were legally entitled, setting off struggles between households and the military. As the contest over underage enlistees became a referendum on the growing centralization of military and political power, it was the United States, more than the Confederacy, that fought tooth and nail to retain this valuable cohort. How far could the federal government breach the sanctity of the household when the nation's very survival was at stake? Should military officers bow to the will of local and state judges? And what form should the military take to ensure victory while remaining true to the nation's republican principles? As they detail how Americans grappled with these questions, Clarke and Plant introduce readers to common but largely unknown wartime scenarios-parents chasing after regiments to recover their sons, state judges defying the federal government by discharging boys, and recently enslaved African American youths swept up by Union recruiters. Examining the phenomenon from multiple perspectives-legal, military, medical, social, political, and cultural-Of Age demonstrates why underage enlistment is such an important lens for understanding the Civil War and its transformative effects"-- Provided by publisher Cover Of Age Copyright Contents Acknowledgments Note on Terminology Introduction PART I: Parental Rights and the Duty to Bear Arms: Congress, Courts, and the Military 1. Competing Obligations: Debating Underage Enlistment in the War of 1812 2. A Great Inconvenience: Prewar Legal Disputes over Underage Enlistees 3. Underdeveloped Bodies: Calculating the Ideal Enlistment Age PART II: The Social and Cultural Origins of Underage Enlistment 4. Instructive Violence: Impressionable Minds and the Cultivation of Courage in Boys 5. Pride of the Nation: The Iconography of Child Soldiers and Drummer Boys 6. Paths to Enlistment: Work, Politics, and School PART III: Male Youth and Military Service DURING the Civil War 7. Contrary to All Law: Debating Underage Service in the United States 8. Preserving the Seed Corn: Youth Enlistment and Demographic Anxiety in the Confederacy 9. Forced into Service: Enslaved and Unfree Youth in the Union and Confederate Armies Epilogue: A War Fought by Boys: Reimagining Boyhood and Underage Soldiers after the Civil War Appendix A: Counting Underage Soldiers Appendix B: Using the Early Indicators of Later Work Levels, Disease, and Death Database to Determine Age of Enlistment in the Union Army, by Christopher Roudiez Notes Bibliography Index Of Age is the first study to focus on underage enlistment in the US Civil War. By tracing the heated conflicts between parents who sought to recover their sons and military and federal officials who resisted their claims, this book exposes larger, underlying struggles over the centralization of wartime legal and military power. 'Of Age' focuses on underage enlistment in the US Civil War. By tracing the heated conflicts between parents who sought to recover their sons and military and federal officials who resisted their claims, this book exposes larger, underlying struggles over the centralization of wartime legal and military power