| Young,Old,Small and Tall |
| Young The majority of soldiers on both sides were white, protestant, unmarried and native born. It's also know that they were almost all young men, usually between 18 and 29. Four out of ever five infact. Of course as in many wars, young boys of 16 and 17 lied about their age in order to join the army. The civil war was no exception ! The youngest known soldier was Charles C Hay, who came from Alabama. He had but 11 years to his age when he managed to enlist, however, he was not the only one ! Many a young boy was able to enlist. A young boy of 13, John Marther Sloan was unfortunate to lose a leg in a fight. However his only regret was that he was now unable to fight the enemy again ! The youngest soldier of the war was an 11 year old by the name of Edward Black. He was a musician. Many young boys found a place in the army fife and drum corps, which were supposedly a non-combatant role. Old It should also be brought to attention that there were also men over 60 fighting in the ranks. One man recalls " there were six men over sixty years who volunteered and served in the ranks throughout the war." (soldier of the Richmond Howitzers) July 1862, E Pollard joined the 5th North Carolinas. He gave his age as 62 but it was thought that he was probably 10 years senior. He was discharged because he was "incapable of performing the duties of a soldier on account of rheumatism and old age." Curtis King enlisted in November 1862 and became the oldest soldier in both armies. He was the grand age of 80 ! Men of all ages were lean on enlisting and stayed that way. No one grew fat on army grub and marching. Tall and Small The average height for men was between 5'5" and 5'9". The shortest man was a Yankee. He was only 3'4". David Van Buskirkwas the tallest Yankee, at a tall height of 1" short of 7 foot ! His company of 100 men, the 27th Indianas boasted 80 me above 6 foot ! The poor chap was captured and sent to Richmond prison in 1862. He was exhibited as a freak. "the biggest Yankee in the world !" Even Jeff Davis came to visit him ! However, private Henry C Thruston of Texas was the tallest man of the entire war. He was an incredable 7'7" . He was 1 of 5 brothers and the shortest was 6'6" ! |
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| Young, Old, Tall and Small |
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