Joel Arthur Moore's Blog – May 2016 Archive (6)

After the start of the war at Fort Sumter, people were lining up to enlist and join the army. The soldiers had multiple motivations for volunteering. Some did it to defend their land. Some did it for glory. And some joined because they want adventure.

While the recruiting age was 18 and above, many boys enlisted their names on both sides of the conflict. The official age limit was often ignored since both the Union and the Confederates need soldiers. Boys as young as 10 or 11 can be…

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Many believed that Alexander H. Johnson was the first black musician to enlist in the army during the Civil War, however, he was not really the first. Technically, at least three others have enlisted before he did.



A sailor with a passion for percussion, Johnson grew up in New Bedford, Massachusetts. For unknown reasons he was separated from his parents before his fifth birthday, and he was adopted by William Henry Johnson, the second black lawyer in the United States. Johnson’s… Continue

While many enlisted because they want to experience some adventure, a large number of boys hint at, or outright admit to having, difficulties of some kind at home. Whether economic or relational, these home problems made the army an attractive option for them, and a reasonable one in the eyes of their parents.



14-year-old Charles William Bardeen was one such youth. He enlisted because of difficulties at home, especially with his mother who has remarried. Raised in an abolitionist… Continue

Henry Lawson Bert was born at Jimstown, Ohio, on August 15, 1845, the son of Peter Bert and of Mary Frazier Bert. Henry was little more than sixteen years of age when he left his home at Tipton to enlist for the Civil War. He was not at once accepted—he was small for his age—but followed the Forty-Seventh Regiment of Indiana Volunteers from Indianapolis to Louisville, before he was finally enrolled as a drummer in Captain William M. Henley's Company I on December 21, 1861. He is described as… Continue

Henry Lawson Bert was born at Jimstown, Ohio, on August 15, 1845, the son of Peter Bert and of Mary Frazier Bert. Henry was little more than sixteen years of age when he left his home at Tipton to enlist for the Civil War. He was not at once accepted—he was small for his age—but followed the Forty-Seventh Regiment of Indiana Volunteers from Indianapolis to Louisville, before he was finally enrolled as a drummer in Captain William M. Henley's Company I on December 21, 1861. He is described as… Continue

Henry Lawson Bert was born at Jimstown, Ohio, on August 15, 1845, the son of Peter Bert and of Mary Frazier Bert. Henry was little more than sixteen years of age when he left his home at Tipton to enlist for the Civil War. He was not at once accepted—he was small for his age—but followed the Forty-Seventh Regiment of Indiana Volunteers from Indianapolis to Louisville, before he was finally enrolled as a drummer in Captain William M. Henley's Company I on December 21, 1861. He is described as…

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