Figure 1.--This boy served as a Union (Northern) powder monkey aboard the "USS Pawnee" during the Civil War. National Archives Online collection. Note the angle of his cap. He looks to be 12-13 years old.

Boys were extensively use by both the Union and Confederacy as drummer boys during the Civil War (1861-65). Boys were also used by the navy in the Civil war as ships' boys and powder monkeys. I do not recall seeing drummer boys in the Spanish American War (1898-99), although I am unsure about just what the regulations were. Nor are we familair with U.S. naval regulations concerning the age of service.

Wars

Boys were extensively used as drummer boys during the War of 1812 and the Civil War (1861-65). Boys were extensively used in both the Federal and Confederate Army during the Civil War. They were also used in the fledglig American Navy in the early 19th century and the more established Navy during the Civil war as ships' boys and powder monkies. I do not recall seeing drummer boys in the Spanish American War (1898-99), although I am unsure about just what the regulations were. Nor are we familair with U.S. naval regulations concerning the age of service.

Civil War

Thousands of children were directly involved in the Civil War. Older boys served as soldiers. Many younger boys were also invoved, some boys as young as 11 years old. The younger boys generlly served as drummer or buggle boys. Commonly the drummer and buggle boys were 13-15 years of age. Both the Confederate and Union soldiers tried to look after the younger boys. In major engagements they were often sent to the rear when charges into fortifications were planned. In some cases they had to be forced to the rear crying. Such a scene is portrayed in the movie Glory. In addition, over 1 million boys of 17 or under served in the Federal Army alone. Beyond the use of very young boys as deummer boys and buggle boys, about 1 million boys 17 years of age and under fought with the Federal Army alone. Almost surely very large numbers of similsrly aged boys fpught with the Conderacy, although actual records are less available. So many boys served in both the Federal and Confederate Army that one author has suggested calling the American Civil War the Boys' War.

Other wars

No information avaialble on other wars at this time.

Services

Boys in America have served in both the Army and Navy. This was especially true in the 19th century.

Army

The primary activity for younger boys in the United States Army was service as drummer and buggle boys. Through the Civil War, however, substantial numbers of boys served and fought in regular Army combat units.

Navy

Boys in the navy served as both ships boys and powder monkees. Actually women also lived abord British ships in the early 19th century while ships were in port. I think the same may have been true of the early American navy. Families lived around where the father worked. Thus babies wre born among the gun crews, giving rise to the expression "son of a gun". These boys might become a ship's boy or powder monkey. A powder monkey was a humorous term for a powder-boy onboard a ship. The powder monkeys were normallly the smallest and youngest member of the crew who were used to fetch gunpowder. Young boys, perhaps only 10 or 12 years old, served on British ships in the early 19th century, I'm not sure about American ships yet. The powder monkey collected the gunpowder charges from the magazine deep in the hold of the ship and carried it to the he was assigned to and performed other ordnance duties on a warship. The term was used on British ships (usage dating to 1682). [Source: The Oxford English Dictionary. New York: Oxford University Press, 1933.]. It was also adopted by the American navy. George J Galloway has written an entertaining novel about a young Irish-Americam The Powder Monkey in the early 19th century during the War of 1812 with Britain. Another entertaining story about a powder monkey is Carole R. Campbell's The Powder Monkey. [Young American Series, no. 4/ White Mane Kids 1999] Campbell tells the story of Tad Lynch, a young boy, who becomes trapped below the deck of a naval vessel while chasing a stray cat. He is trapped just as the ironclad CSS Virginia (the Merrimavk) is leaving dock. The warship is on its way to Hampton Roads, where it is about to engage in a two-day battle with the Union vessels Cumberland, Congress, and Monitor. Discovered by the cook, Tad is given the dangerous job of carrying powder to the guns, i.e., he becomes a "powder monkey." He then does his best to perform his duties amidst the noise, smoke, and confusion of battle. I'm not sire, however, just how powder monkeys were actually recruited.