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Charley: The True Story of the Youngest Soldier to Die in the American Civil War
A short biography of Charley King, who enlisted aged just 12, and became the youngest soldier to die in the American Civil.

In early April 1861, the streets of West Chester, PA, echoed with the sound of a rattling snare drum. The orders it marked out could be heard for blocks around – about face, advance, retreat, company rest – but there were no troops in the city to hear it. The Civil War, though it loomed heavy on the minds of everyone in the nation, had not yet begun. Fort Sumter would remain in Union hands for another two weeks and the secession crisis in the south was yet still only a war of words. 

But on the one hundred block of Barnard Street, the children had already mustered. The children were already marching. And Charley King, a boy of only 11, was leading them. In a matter of days, the war would start in earnest. In just a few months, Charley would march with the 49th Pennsylvania Infantry into the heat of battle. And in just under a year and a half, he would become the youngest enlisted soldier to die in the American Civil War.

Charley marched with Company F, tapping out the cadence and relaying orders as they fought in the ill-fated Peninsula Campaign, traveled in the long slog through Maryland during Robert E. Lee’s first invasion of the North, and faced down enemy artillery in the woods north of Sharpsburg at Antietam Creek. That battle remains the bloodiest day in American history. Charley and twenty-two thousand other Americans were killed or wounded that day. Charley’s final resting place is unknown, but he is memorialized in West Chester at Greenmount Cemetery where his mother and father are buried. Using a wide range of sources, this unique history reconstructs Charley’s short life and the tragedy of his claim as the youngest soldier to die in the American Civil War.
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Charley: The True Story of the Youngest Soldier to Die in the American Civil War
A short biography of Charley King, who enlisted aged just 12, and became the youngest soldier to die in the American Civil.

In early April 1861, the streets of West Chester, PA, echoed with the sound of a rattling snare drum. The orders it marked out could be heard for blocks around – about face, advance, retreat, company rest – but there were no troops in the city to hear it. The Civil War, though it loomed heavy on the minds of everyone in the nation, had not yet begun. Fort Sumter would remain in Union hands for another two weeks and the secession crisis in the south was yet still only a war of words. 

But on the one hundred block of Barnard Street, the children had already mustered. The children were already marching. And Charley King, a boy of only 11, was leading them. In a matter of days, the war would start in earnest. In just a few months, Charley would march with the 49th Pennsylvania Infantry into the heat of battle. And in just under a year and a half, he would become the youngest enlisted soldier to die in the American Civil War.

Charley marched with Company F, tapping out the cadence and relaying orders as they fought in the ill-fated Peninsula Campaign, traveled in the long slog through Maryland during Robert E. Lee’s first invasion of the North, and faced down enemy artillery in the woods north of Sharpsburg at Antietam Creek. That battle remains the bloodiest day in American history. Charley and twenty-two thousand other Americans were killed or wounded that day. Charley’s final resting place is unknown, but he is memorialized in West Chester at Greenmount Cemetery where his mother and father are buried. Using a wide range of sources, this unique history reconstructs Charley’s short life and the tragedy of his claim as the youngest soldier to die in the American Civil War.
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Charley: The True Story of the Youngest Soldier to Die in the American Civil War

Charley: The True Story of the Youngest Soldier to Die in the American Civil War

by Brendan J. Lyons
Charley: The True Story of the Youngest Soldier to Die in the American Civil War
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Charley: The True Story of the Youngest Soldier to Die in the American Civil War

Charley: The True Story of the Youngest Soldier to Die in the American Civil War

by Brendan J. Lyons

Overview

A short biography of Charley King, who enlisted aged just 12, and became the youngest soldier to die in the American Civil.

In early April 1861, the streets of West Chester, PA, echoed with the sound of a rattling snare drum. The orders it marked out could be heard for blocks around – about face, advance, retreat, company rest – but there were no troops in the city to hear it. The Civil War, though it loomed heavy on the minds of everyone in the nation, had not yet begun. Fort Sumter would remain in Union hands for another two weeks and the secession crisis in the south was yet still only a war of words. 

But on the one hundred block of Barnard Street, the children had already mustered. The children were already marching. And Charley King, a boy of only 11, was leading them. In a matter of days, the war would start in earnest. In just a few months, Charley would march with the 49th Pennsylvania Infantry into the heat of battle. And in just under a year and a half, he would become the youngest enlisted soldier to die in the American Civil War.

Charley marched with Company F, tapping out the cadence and relaying orders as they fought in the ill-fated Peninsula Campaign, traveled in the long slog through Maryland during Robert E. Lee’s first invasion of the North, and faced down enemy artillery in the woods north of Sharpsburg at Antietam Creek. That battle remains the bloodiest day in American history. Charley and twenty-two thousand other Americans were killed or wounded that day. Charley’s final resting place is unknown, but he is memorialized in West Chester at Greenmount Cemetery where his mother and father are buried. Using a wide range of sources, this unique history reconstructs Charley’s short life and the tragedy of his claim as the youngest soldier to die in the American Civil War.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781955041065
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
Publication date: 07/15/2023
Pages: 160
Sales rank: 625,687
Product dimensions: 5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range: 12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Brendan Lyons grew up just north of West Chester in Downingtown, PA. He has a degree in History Education from Villanova University. In 2004 as part of his Eagle Scout project, Lyons took up the cause of funding and building a monument to Charley, which now stands in Greenmount Cemetery in West Chester.

Table of Contents

West Chester
Fort Sumter
Bull Run
Goodbyes
Muster
Drill and Train
Marching Orders
The Peninsula
April 22nd
Williamsburg
The Lull
Seven Days Battles
Savage Station and White Oak Swamp
Harrison's Landing
Disease
Coward
Long Withdraw
Crampton's Gap
Sharpsburg
His Last Full Measure
Epilogue
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