SNIPPET: Many youths under 18 enlisted as soldiers during the American Civil War by claiming to be a few years older than they were, but Johnny CLEM entered the ranks before he was 10. There was no minimum age for musicians, and he joined the 22nd Michigan Infantry as a drummer, campaigning with the regiment in Tennessee and seeing battle at Shiloh, Perryville, and Stones River. He was a "bright, cheery child," his sister recalled and "soon made his way into the affections of officers and soldiers." Johnny became the Union's darling when the press touted his exploits at Chickamauga. (1863). By one account, he used a sawed-off musket cut down to size for him to shoot a Confederate officer who came at him shouting: "Surrender, you little Yankee devil!" For his valor, he was awarded sergeant's stripes and a silver medal. After the war, he remained in the army for a half century. When he retired at 65 as a major general, he was the last man active in the armed forces who had served in the Civil War. Yet CLEM was still a youngster compared to the oldest soldier known to have taken part in that conflict -- Curtis KING, who enlisted in the 37th Iowa Infantry in 1862 at the age of 80. -- Excerpt, w/photo of handsome, little Johnny CLEM in uniform found in "Eyewitness To The Civil War," Kagan & Hyslop (2006).