In a message dated 3/28/2000 9:26:25 PM Mountain Standard Time, [email protected] writes: << I have no idea if they were volunteers or draftees or both. I was always told my ggrandfather, Benjamin F. Evanns "enlisted" at age 16. In December 1861, were they fradting 16 year olds? >> 1861 is a bit early for recruiting boys. However, anxious boys DO lie about their age, esp if a father or older brother also joined earlier. And there WERE some very young boys as drummers....as young as 10 in couple of cases. Diane