Elisha Stockwell Analysis

The boys had strong beliefs in The south or the north, so they enlist in the army. Elisha Stockwell sighed, his recruitment paper he was not entirely honest. He told the officer he didn’t know how old he was.Their were many ways to get a young boy in the army. Some lie about their age officers often turn a blind eye to the boys. Other officer who was minister would use their congregation as recruitment pools.Even school teachers their influence with local recruitment officer to enlist their own student. If the boys could not get around the officer the line inquiry, then turned to the boy’s parents.The last resort for boys unable to gain a parent’s consent was to simply run away from home and enlist in another town. Some boys enlisted under a false name so their parents and the authorities

On the parade ground, young drummers often found it difficult to maintain the regulation 28 inch pace during a march while carrying a standard issue drum. The tedium of drilling was also very hard on a young, restless mind. Bullying from the older soldiers also dampened a young recruit’s spirit. Stockwell encountered one soldier who “liked to try all recruits to see if they could fight” or “I didn’t enlist to fight that way”.These young recruits were also exposed to the previously forbidden adult vices of tobacco, alcohol, gambling and prostitution. Boy soldiers faced life threatening challenges on the battlefield. Musicians were more often than not unarmed and this could prove fatal, should they come prove fatal, should They come into close quarters within the enemy. While there were uniformed underage boy sided of the conflict, they rarely encountered each other except in heart wrenching cases. Even boys under the protection of senior officers, like Gen.Ulysses S. Grant’s son, Fredrick Grant were not immune to the trauma of