Exploits of Little John Clem illustration   Save
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Description: Illustration titled "Exploits of Little John Clem," from Benson Lossings' Our Country, 1877. Johnny Clem, born John Joseph Klem, was a soldier in the service of the United States for most of his life. He was born on August 13, 1851, in Newark, Ohio. Some accounts claim that Clem first had been permitted to join the Twenty-Fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Other sources claim that Clem joined the Twenty-Second Michigan Infantry Regiment when it marched through Newark. Since Johnny Clem was too young to join the army officially, officers of the Twenty-Second Michigan contributed money to pay him a monthly wage. Soldiers provided him with a gun and uniform and trained him to be a drummer boy. Clem was finally allowed to enlist in the United States Army in May 1863, when he was only twelve. In the meantime, Clem had already participated in numerous battles and had become quite famous. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04227
Subjects: United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865; Children--Ohio; Soldiers--Ohio
Places: Newark (Ohio); Licking County (Ohio)