Young Soldiers & Teenage Patriots

In the summer of 1776, a boy named Joseph Plumb Martin walked to the army sign-up table in Milford, Connecticut. He was fifteen. He had watched his friends sign up for days. One evening he sat down and picked up the pen. He moved it in the air over the paper. A man behind him bumped his hand. The pen made a scratch on the page. "O, he has enlisted," the man said. So Martin signed his name. Now he was a soldier.

How Old the Soldiers Were

Many soldiers were young. Most were between fifteen and thirty. Thousands were only fifteen. No one asked a boy to prove his age. In November 1776, Congress made a rule. A soldier had to be at least sixteen. A younger boy needed his parents to say yes.

Some of the youngest boys played music. Each company had a drummer and a fifer. A fifer plays a small, high flute. Most drummers and fifers were young men. But a few were boys. One fifer, John Piatt, was ten. One drummer, Benjamin Peck, was ten too.

Jobs for Boys

A battle was loud. Officers could not shout over the noise. So the drums and fifes sent the orders. They told the men when to march and when to fire. Other boys carried messages. On ships, boys carried gunpowder to the big guns. Older boys carried muskets and fought.

Boys joined for many reasons. Martin wrote that he had long wanted to be a soldier. Some boys needed the pay. Some wanted to leave a hard home. Some lied about their age to get in.

Martin's War

Martin's regiment went to New York. His six months ended on Christmas Day. He went home. In April 1777 he signed up again for the rest of the war. That winter he was at Valley Forge. The soldiers there had little food. Later Martin became a sergeant. A sergeant is a soldier who leads a small group. He served until 1783.

A Boy Courier

Andrew Jackson was born in 1767 in the Carolinas. At thirteen he carried messages for the Patriots. At fourteen the British caught him. Jackson later said an officer told him to clean his boots. He said no. The officer cut him with a sword. Jackson had the scars all his life. In prison he caught smallpox. His mother died that year. He was an orphan at fourteen. Years later he became president.

In 1830 Martin wrote a book about his war. He was sixty-nine. He died in Maine in 1850.

In the summer of 1776, a fifteen-year-old named Joseph Plumb Martin kept walking to the army's sign-up table in Milford, Connecticut. He watched his friends enlist and went home without signing. One evening he sat down at the table and picked up the pen. He moved it in the air over the paper without touching it. Then a man leaning over his shoulder bumped his hand, and the pen scratched the page. "O, he has enlisted," the man said. Martin signed his name. He was now a soldier for six months.

How Old the Soldiers Were

Martin was not unusual. Most soldiers in the Continental Army were between fifteen and thirty, and thousands were only fifteen. Recruiters rarely asked a boy to prove his age. In November 1776 Congress told recruiters to sign up men at least sixteen years old. A boy under sixteen needed his parents' permission.

Some of the youngest were musicians. Each company had a drummer and a fifer, a player of a small, high-pitched flute. A study of army records found that most drummers and fifers were young men, not children. But a few were boys. A fifer named John Piatt and a drummer named Benjamin Peck were both ten when they first served.

Jobs for Boys

Officers could not shout orders over the noise of a battle. So the drums and fifes passed the commands by music, such as when to advance and when to fire. Other boys carried messages between camps. On warships, boys called powder monkeys carried gunpowder to the guns. Older boys carried muskets and fought beside the men.

Boys joined for different reasons. Martin wrote that he had long wanted to be a soldier. Others needed the pay or the bounty, a cash payment for signing up. Some wanted to get away from a hard home. Since few records were kept, a boy could lie about his age.

Martin's War

Martin's regiment went to New York City. In August 1776 he watched from a distance as the British beat the American army on Long Island. His six months ended on Christmas Day, and he went home to Connecticut. In April 1777 he enlisted again for the rest of the war. That winter he was at Valley Forge, where soldiers went days with little food. Later he became a sergeant in the Corps of Sappers and Miners, the soldiers who dug trenches. At Yorktown in 1781 his unit dug the trenches that trapped the British army. He served until 1783.

A Courier in the Carolinas

Andrew Jackson was younger still. He was born on March 15, 1767, on the border of North and South Carolina. After the British captured Charleston in May 1780, Jackson, then thirteen, became a courier, a rider who carried messages for the Patriots. In April 1781, at fourteen, the British captured him. Jackson later told the story that an officer ordered him to clean his boots. He refused, and the officer slashed his hand and head with a sword. He carried the scars for life. In prison he nearly starved and caught smallpox. His mother died that same year, and by fourteen he was an orphan. Years later he became the seventh president of the United States.

Martin settled in Prospect, Maine. In 1830, at sixty-nine, he published a book about his years in the army. He died in 1850.

In the summer of 1776, a fifteen-year-old named Joseph Plumb Martin kept walking to the rendezvous, the place in Milford, Connecticut, where the army signed up recruits. He watched his friends enlist and went home without signing. One evening he sat down at the table and picked up the pen. He later wrote that he made "several mimic imitations of writing my name" without touching the paper, until a man leaning over his shoulder knocked his hand and the pen scratched the page. "O, he has enlisted," the man said. Martin signed his name, and he was a soldier for six months.

How Old the Soldiers Were

Martin was not unusual. The average Continental soldier was about twenty-two years old, most were between fifteen and thirty, and thousands of fifteen-year-olds served during the war. Recruiters rarely asked for proof of age, so a boy who looked old enough could sign. In November 1776 Congress told recruiters to enlist men at least sixteen years old, and a boy under sixteen needed his parents' permission.

Some of the youngest were musicians, because each company in the army normally had a drummer and a fifer, a player of a small, high-pitched flute. A study of the army's drummers and fifers found that most of them were young men, with an average age of eighteen and a half when they first served. But a few were boys, and a fifer named John Piatt and a drummer named Benjamin Peck were both ten years old when they joined.

Jobs for Boys

Drummers and fifers did more than keep time on the march. Officers could not shout orders over the noise of a battle, so the drums and fifes passed commands by music: when to advance, when to fire, when to fall back. Boys also carried messages between camps, and on warships boys called powder monkeys carried gunpowder from below deck to the guns. Older boys carried muskets and fought beside the men.

Boys joined for different reasons. Martin wrote that a soldier was what he "had long wished to be," while others needed the pay or the bounty, a cash payment given to a recruit for signing up, and some wanted to get away from a difficult home. Because recordkeeping was loose, a boy could lie about his age and few would check.

Martin's War

Martin's regiment sailed to New York City in 1776, and in August he watched from a distance as the British defeated the Continental Army on Long Island. He wrote that "the horrors of battle then presented themselves to my mind in all their hideousness." His six months ended on Christmas Day, and he went home to Connecticut, but in April 1777 he enlisted again, this time for the rest of the war.

That winter he was at Valley Forge, where soldiers went for days with little food, and he joined parties sent out to find supplies in the countryside. Later he became a sergeant in the Corps of Sappers and Miners, the soldiers who dug trenches and built earthworks. At Yorktown in 1781 his unit dug the trenches that let the American and French armies close in on the British. He served until the army was sent home in 1783.

A Courier in the Carolinas

Andrew Jackson was younger still, born on March 15, 1767, in the Waxhaws settlement on the border of North and South Carolina. After the British captured Charleston in May 1780, Jackson, then thirteen, joined the Patriot fighters as a courier, a rider who carried messages. In April 1781, at fourteen, he was captured by the British. Jackson later told the story that an officer ordered him to clean his boots. He refused, and the officer slashed his hand and head with a sword. The scars stayed with him for life. In the British prison he nearly starved and caught smallpox, and his mother died that same year, so by fourteen he was an orphan. Years later he became the seventh president of the United States.

Martin settled in Prospect, Maine, after the war, and in 1830, at sixty-nine, he published a book about his service, A Narrative of Some of the Adventures, Dangers and Sufferings of a Revolutionary Soldier. He died in Prospect in 1850.

In the summer of 1776, a fifteen-year-old named Joseph Plumb Martin kept walking to the rendezvous, the place in Milford, Connecticut, where the Continental Army signed up recruits. Connecticut was raising six-month regiments for the defense of New York, and Martin watched his friends enlist and went home each time without signing. "If I once undertake, thought I, I must stick to it, there will be no receding," he later wrote. One evening he sat down at the table, picked up the pen, and made "several mimic imitations of writing my name" without touching the paper, until a man leaning over his shoulder knocked his hand and the pen scratched the page. "O, he has enlisted," the man said, "he has made his mark, he is fast enough now." Martin signed, and he was, as he put it, "a soldier, in name at least, if not in practice."

How Old the Soldiers Were

Martin was not unusual, because the average Continental soldier was about twenty-two years old, most recruits were between fifteen and thirty, and thousands of fifteen-year-olds served over the course of the war. Recruiters rarely asked for proof of age, and muster rolls seldom recorded it, so a boy who looked old enough could sign the enlistment papers. In November 1776 Congress instructed recruiters to enlist men at least sixteen years old, and a boy under sixteen needed his parents' permission, although the regulation was not always followed.

Some of the youngest were musicians, since each company in the army normally had a drummer and a fifer, a player of a small, high-pitched flute, and the two together were called the field music. A study of their service records by the historian John U. Rees found that their average age at first service was eighteen and a half, about nineteen for drummers and seventeen for fifers. Boy musicians existed, but they were the exception rather than the rule. A fifer named John Piatt and a drummer named Benjamin Peck were both ten years old when they first served.

Jobs for Boys

Drummers and fifers did more than keep time on the march. Officers could not shout orders over the noise of a battle, so the drums and fifes passed commands by music, telling the men when to advance, when to fire, and when to fall back, and in camp the drums marked the hours of the day from reveille in the morning to tattoo at night. Boys also carried messages between camps and posts. On warships, boys called powder monkeys carried gunpowder from the magazine below deck to the guns, work that suited their small size in the cramped space of a gun deck. Older boys carried muskets and fought beside the men.

Boys joined for different reasons. Martin wrote that a soldier was what he "had long wished to be," and that "I had obtained my heart's desire." Others needed the pay or the bounty, a cash payment given to a recruit for signing up, which increased as the war continued and recruits grew scarce, and some wanted to get away from a difficult home. Because recordkeeping was loose, a boy could lie about his age and few would check.

Martin's War

Martin's regiment sailed to New York City in 1776, and in August he watched from a distance as the British defeated the Continental Army on Long Island, a sight he described in his book: "the horrors of battle then presented themselves to my mind in all their hideousness." He stayed with the army in New York that fall. His six months ended on Christmas Day, and he went home to Connecticut, so he missed the crossing of the Delaware and the battles of Trenton and Princeton. In April 1777 he enlisted again, this time for the rest of the war.

That winter he was at Valley Forge, where soldiers went for days with little food, and he joined the parties sent out to collect supplies from farms in the countryside. In May 1780 at Morristown, New Jersey, he saw the men of the Connecticut brigade come close to mutiny, an open refusal by soldiers to obey their officers, over missing pay and food. Later he became a sergeant in the Corps of Sappers and Miners, the soldiers who dug trenches and built earthworks, and at Yorktown in 1781 his unit dug the trenches that let the American and French armies close in on the British. He served until the army was sent home in 1783.

A Courier in the Carolinas

Andrew Jackson was younger still, born on March 15, 1767, in the Waxhaws settlement on the border of North and South Carolina, shortly after his father died. After the British captured Charleston in May 1780, British troops and Loyalists raided the South Carolina countryside, and Jackson, then thirteen, joined the Patriot fighters as a courier, a rider who carried messages. In April 1781, at fourteen, he was captured by the British. Jackson later told the story that an officer ordered him to clean his boots, and that when he refused, the officer slashed his hand and head with a sword, leaving scars he carried for life. In the British prison he nearly starved and caught smallpox. His brother died of smallpox after their release, and his mother died that same year after nursing American prisoners in Charleston, so by fourteen Jackson was an orphan. Years later he became the seventh president of the United States.

How We Know

Most boy soldiers left no account of themselves. The army's muster rolls list names and sometimes heights, but rarely ages, which is why historians cannot say exactly how many soldiers were under eighteen. What survives comes mainly from a few men who wrote about their service decades afterward. Martin settled in Prospect, Maine, married, served as town clerk, and in 1830, at sixty-nine, published his book without his name on it, A Narrative of Some of the Adventures, Dangers and Sufferings of a Revolutionary Soldier. Ebenezer Fox, who ran away to the war as a boy from Massachusetts, published his own account in 1838, much of it about his service at sea. The story of Jackson and the officer's boots comes from Jackson himself, retold by the writers who published his biography when he ran for president. Martin died in Prospect on May 2, 1850, at eighty-nine, and his gravestone reads "A Soldier of the Revolution."