John Clem

John Lincoln Clem (August 13, 1851 – May 13, 1937) was a United States Army general who served as a drummer boy in the Union Army in the American Civil War. He gained fame for his bravery on the battlefield, becoming the youngest noncommissioned officer in army history. He retired from the army in 1915, having attained the rank of Brigadier General in the Quartermaster Corps. When advised he should retire, he requested to be allowed to remain on active duty until he became the last veteran of the Civil War still on duty in the Armed Forces. By special act of Congress on August 29, 1916, he was promoted to major general one year after his retirement.

Civil War
Born in Newark, Ohio, in 1851 as John Joseph Klem, he ran away from home at age 9 after his mother died, to become a Union Army drummer boy. He attempted to enlist in May 1861 in the 3rd Ohio Infantry, but was rejected because of his age and small size. He then tried to join the 22nd Michigan, which also refused him. He tagged along anyway, and the 22nd eventually adopted him as mascot and drummer boy. Officers chipped in to pay him the regular soldier's wage of $13 a month, and finally allowed him to enlist two years later.

A popular legend suggests that Clem served as a drummer boy with the Michigan at the Battle of Shiloh. The legend suggests that he came very near to losing his life when a fragment from a shrapnel shell crashed through his drum, knocking him unconscious, and that subsequently his comrades who found and rescued him from the battlefield nicknamed Clem "Johnny Shiloh."

The weight of historical evidence however suggests that Clem could not have taken part in the battle of Shiloh. The 22nd Michigan appears to be the first unit in which Clem served in any capacity, but this regiment had not yet been constituted at the time of the battle. The Johnny Shiloh legend appears instead to stem from a popular Civil War song, "The Drummer Boy of Shiloh" by William S. Hays which was written for Harpers Weekly of New York. The song was written following the Battle of Chickamauga in September 1863, and may have been written with Clem in mind because he had already become a nationally known figure by that time.

At the Battle of Chickamauga, he rode an artillery caisson to the front and wielded a musket trimmed to his size. In the course of a Union retreat, he shot a Confederate colonel who had demanded his surrender. After the battle, the "Drummer Boy of Chickamauga" was promoted to sergeant, the youngest soldier ever to be a noncommissioned officer in the United States Army.

In October 1863, Clem was captured in Georgia by Confederate cavalry while detailed as a train guard. The Confederate soldiers confiscated his uniform which reportedly upset him terribly—including his cap which had three bullet holes in it. He was exchanged a short time later, but the Confederate newspapers used his age and celebrity status to show "what sore straits the Yankees are driven, when they have to send their babes out to fight us."

After participating with the Army of the Cumberland in many other battles, serving as a mounted orderly, he was discharged in September 1864. Clem was wounded in combat twice during the war.

Later life
Clem graduated from high school in 1870. In 1871, he was elected commander/captain of the "Washington Rifles" a District of Columbia Army National Guard militia unit. After he attempted unsuccessfully to enter the United States Military Academy, President Ulysses S. Grant appointed him second lieutenant in the Twenty Fourth United States Infantry in December 1871. Clem was promoted to first lieutenant in 1874.

Clem graduated from artillery school at Fort Monroe in 1875. He was transferred to the Quartermaster Department and promoted to captain in 1882. He stayed in the Quartermaster Department for the rest of his career. He was promoted to major in 1895 and lieutenant colonel in 1901. He was promoted to the rank of colonel in August 1903. From 1906 to 1911 he was chief quartermaster at Fort Sam Houston in Texas. Clem reached the mandatory retirement age of 64 on August 13, 1915 when he was retired and promoted to the rank of brigadier general. On August 29, 1916 he was promoted on the retired list to the rank of major general.

After retirement he lived in Washington, D.C. for a few years, then returned to San Antonio, Texas.

Personal Life
He married Anita Rosetta French in 1875. She died in 1899, and he married Bessie Sullivan of San Antonio in 1903. Clem was the father of two children.

Clem was a companion of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States and the Military Order of Foreign Wars.

He died in San Antonio on May 13, 1937 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA.

Dates of Promotion
Through his military career Clem held the following ranks:


 * Musician and Lance Sergeant, Co. C, 22nd Michigan Infantry - 1 May 1863 to 19 September 1864
 * 2nd Lieutenant - 18 December 1871
 * 1st Lieutenant - 5 October 1874
 * Captain - 4 May 1882
 * Major - 16 May 1895
 * Lieutenant Colonel - 2 February 1901
 * Colonel - 15 August 1903
 * Brigadier General (Retired) - 13 August 1915
 * Major General (Retired) - 29 August 1916

Awards

 * Civil War Campaign Medal
 * Indian Campaign Medal
 * Spanish War Service Medal

Memorialization

 * A 6-foot bronze statue of young John Clem stands near the Buckingham Meeting House in Newark, Ohio.
 * A World War II U.S. Army troopship, the USAT John L. Clem, was named in his honor. The ship was scrapped in 1948.
 * A public school in Newark, Ohio is named after him: Johnny Clem Elementary School.
 * The city of Heath, Ohio is coextensive with Johnny Clem Township.

Film portrayals
In 1963, Walt Disney produced a made-for-TV film entitled Johnny Shiloh, with Kevin Corcoran in the title role. The film was telecast on the Disney anthology television series.