by VDC staff

In the humid summer of 1862, as the Union Army retreated down the muddy Virginia Peninsula in defeat, thousands of exhausted soldiers threw away their weapons and equipment to lighten their loads. Amid the chaos, one small figure refused to abandon his burden. William “Willie” Johnston, an 11-year-old drummer boy from Vermont, carried his drum through the entire grueling march—a simple act of determination that would make him the youngest recipient of the Medal of Honor in American history.[1]

Born in Morristown, New York – or St. Johnsbury – on July 12, 1850, to English immigrants Eliza and William B.H. Johnston, Willie’s early life was marked by loss and movement.[2] His mother died when he was young, and his father, a civil engineer, remarried in Montreal, Canada, where the family had relocated by 1853.[3] By 1858, the Johnstons had settled in Salem, Vermont (now part of Derby), where Willie’s father worked as an innkeeper.[4]

When the Civil War erupted, Willie’s father answered the call to defend his adopted country, enlisting in the 3rd Vermont Infantry in June 1861.[5] The boy, desperate not to be separated from his father, begged to accompany him to war. The commanding officer agreed, and on December 11, 1861, Willie was formally enlisted as a drummer in Company D of the same regiment.[6] Army rolls recorded him as 11 years old and five feet tall—a child soldier in an army that would rely heavily on youth.[7]

Drummer boys were far more than musicians in Civil War armies. In the deafening chaos of battle, when officers’ shouted commands were drowned out by cannon fire and musket volleys, the distinctive beats of drums communicated orders across the battlefield.[8] These young drummers signaled when to advance, retreat, or change formation—making their role critical to military operations despite their tender years.

Willie’s moment of distinction came during the Seven Days Battles, fought between June 25 and July 1, 1862, as part of General George B. McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign.[9] The Union forces had pushed within miles of the Confederate capital at Richmond when newly appointed Confederate General Robert E. Lee launched aggressive counteroffensives that drove the Northern army into retreat.[10] After the Battle of Malvern Hill on July 1, Union forces began a desperate overnight withdrawal toward Harrison’s Landing on the James River.

The retreat was a nightmare. Torrential rains had transformed the roads into rivers of mud, making passage nearly impossible.[11] Wagons and artillery caissons clogged the way, forcing soldiers to slog through the muck on foot. Confederate forces pursued relentlessly, adding the terror of combat to the exhaustion of the march. As panic spread through the ranks, soldiers began jettisoning everything they carried—muskets, knapsacks, blankets, ammunition—anything that would allow them to move faster and survive.[12]

The musicians suffered the same ordeal. Of the estimated 130 drummers in Willie’s division, all abandoned their heavy, cumbersome instruments in the mud or stored them in the chaotic wagon train.[13] All except one. Willie Johnston, weighing perhaps 65 pounds and standing just five feet tall, refused to let go of his drum.[14] Through the 12-mile march, as grown men discarded their weapons around him, the child held fast to his instrument.[15]

When the battered army finally reached Harrison’s Landing on the morning of July 2, General McClellan ordered a Fourth of July review to restore morale among the demoralized troops.[16] There was only one problem: no one had drums for the ceremony. Willie Johnston was the sole drummer in the entire division who still possessed his instrument.[17] The 11-year-old boy was given the honor of drumming for the entire division parade—a moment that brought him to the attention of his commanders.[18]

Division commander General William Farrar Smith noted Willie’s achievement in his official report.[19] When President Abraham Lincoln heard the story of the boy who refused to abandon his drum, he was deeply moved—perhaps influenced by the recent death of his own son Willie, also 11 years old, just five months earlier.[20] Lincoln recommended that the young drummer receive recognition for his dedication.

On September 16, 1863, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton personally presented Willie Johnston with the Medal of Honor at a ceremony in Washington.[21] Willie was 13 years old at the time of the award, though he had performed the deed that earned it when he was only 11.[22] The citation praised his determination during the Seven Days Battles when he kept his drum while others discarded their equipment.[23] He became only the second person ever to receive the Medal of Honor and remains the youngest recipient in the award’s 160-year history.[24]

Willie’s war service continued after his Medal of Honor ceremony. Reported as wounded following the Peninsula Campaign, he was transferred to the Invalid Corps (later reorganized as the Veteran Reserve Corps) and served as an attendant at West’s Buildings Hospital in Baltimore, where he played in the hospital band and was appointed drum major.[25] Despite bureaucratic complications with his documentation, Willie re-enlisted in the 3rd Vermont Infantry on February 15, 1864, and was finally mustered out of service on August 31, 1865, at age 15.[26]

The young veteran returned to civilian life in Vermont, attending Norwich University from 1866 to 1868, though he did not graduate.[27] Letters Willie wrote during his military service demonstrated his intelligence and literacy, showing clear command of grammar and ability to communicate complex information despite minor spelling errors.[28] In 1867, he competed unsuccessfully for admission to the United States Military Academy at West Point.[29] During the late 1860s, he played drum in St. Johnsbury’s town band, his wartime instrument bearing a silver commemorative plaque describing his Medal of Honor achievement.[30]

Willie eventually moved to Charlestown, Massachusetts, where he married Nellie Murphy on March 1, 1870.[31] The couple had five children: Anna Lewis (born 1871), William Henry (born 1872), Mary (born 1874), Charles Cyril (born 1876), and Leo Francis (born 1878).[32] Following in his father’s footsteps, Willie worked as a machinist, and the family lived at 65 Tremont Street.[33] He remained connected to his military service, attending a Medal of Honor Legion reunion in Burlington, Vermont, in July 1899.[34]

The details of Willie Johnston’s later years remain largely unknown to historians. Some sources indicate he died on September 16, 1941—exactly 78 years after receiving his Medal of Honor—though this date lacks definitive verification.[35] His burial location remains a mystery despite extensive efforts to locate it.[36]

Willie Johnston’s legacy endures through several memorials. The Fairbanks Museum in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, displays his photograph and drumsticks as part of its Civil War collection.[37] In June 2012, the Vermont Civil War Hemlocks placed a commemorative plaque at Berkeley Plantation, Virginia (Harrison’s Landing), honoring the young drummer.[38] The inscription reads: “At Harrison’s Landing on July 4, 1862, Willie Johnston—age 11, 3rd Vermont Drummer Boy played for Div. review. For keeping his drum during the arduous 7 days battles, he was awarded the Medal of Honor by Sec. of War Stanton. He remains the youngest recipient of the Medal of Honor.”[39] In 2007, a bronze statue was unveiled at Old Town Newhall’s Veterans Memorial Plaza in Santa Clarita, California, dedicated to all U.S. military personnel but prominently featuring Willie’s story.[40] In 2019, a granite monument was erected in Derby, Vermont, Willie’s childhood home, commemorating his extraordinary achievement.[41]

Willie Johnston’s story represents more than a child’s stubborn refusal to abandon military equipment during a chaotic retreat. His determination spoke to the dedication of thousands of young Americans who served their country during the Civil War—approximately 20 percent of soldiers in both Union and Confederate armies were under 18 years old.[42] In an era when the Medal of Honor was virtually the only military decoration available to enlisted soldiers, Willie’s award recognized not just his individual action but the courage of all the drummer boys who marched into battle alongside grown men.[43]

Today, more than 160 years after that desperate July night in Virginia, Willie Johnston’s Medal of Honor remains a testament to the fact that heroism knows no age. The 11-year-old boy who refused to abandon his drum in the mud of the Peninsula became the youngest person ever to receive America’s highest military honor—a record that still stands and, given modern military regulations, likely always will.

Sources

[1] Military.com, “How a Civil War Drummer Boy Became the Youngest Medal of Honor Recipient,” March 10, 2025, https://www.military.com/history/how-civil-war-drummer-boy-became-youngest-medal-of-honor-recipient.html

[2] Wikipedia, “Willie Johnston (Medal of Honor),” October 5, 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Johnston_(Medal_of_Honor)

[3] Ibid.

[4] HowOld.co, “Willie Johnston (Medal of Honor) Biography,” https://www.howold.co/person/willie-johnston-medal-of-honor/biography

[5] Military.com, “How a Civil War Drummer Boy Became the Youngest Medal of Honor Recipient”

[6] Wikipedia, “Willie Johnston (Medal of Honor)”

[7] Ibid.

[8] Coffee or Die, “Willie Johnston: The 11-Year-Old Civil War Drummer Boy Awarded the Medal of Honor,” April 13, 2022, https://www.coffeeordie.com/article/willie-johnston-drummer-boy

[9] Military.com, “How a Civil War Drummer Boy Became the Youngest Medal of Honor Recipient”

[10] Ibid.

[11] Military Images Magazine, “Willie Johnston is the youngest Medal of Honor recipient,” https://www.militaryimagesmagazine-digital.com/2020/03/01/the-honored-few-spring-2020/

[12] Wikipedia, “Willie Johnston (Medal of Honor)”

[13] Military Images Magazine, “Willie Johnston is the youngest Medal of Honor recipient”

[14] WikiTree, “Willie Johnston (1850-abt.1941),” https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Johnston-5364

[15] Grokipedia, “Willie Johnston (Medal of Honor),” https://grokipedia.com/page/Willie_Johnston_(Medal_of_Honor)

[16] Military Images Magazine, “Willie Johnston is the youngest Medal of Honor recipient”

[17] Ibid.

[18] Historical Marker Database, “William ‘Willie’ Johnston Historical Marker,” https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=232556

[19] Wikipedia, “Willie Johnston (Medal of Honor)”

[20] WikiTree, “Willie Johnston (1850-abt.1941)”

[21] Wikipedia, “Willie Johnston (Medal of Honor)”

[22] Military.com, “How a Civil War Drummer Boy Became the Youngest Medal of Honor Recipient”

[23] The Caledonian (St. Johnsbury, Vermont), October 31, 1863, as cited in Wikipedia, “Willie Johnston (Medal of Honor)”

[24] Coffee or Die, “Willie Johnston: The 11-Year-Old Civil War Drummer Boy Awarded the Medal of Honor”

[25] Wikipedia, “Willie Johnston (Medal of Honor)”

[26] Ibid.

[27] Kiddle Encyclopedia, “Learn Willie Johnston (Medal of Honor) facts for kids,” https://kids.kiddle.co/Willie_Johnston_(Medal_of_Honor)

[28] HowOld.co, “Willie Johnston (Medal of Honor) Biography”

[29] Wikipedia, “Willie Johnston (Medal of Honor)”

[30] The Vermont Union (Lyndon, Vermont), July 12, 1867, as cited in Historical Marker Database, “William ‘Willie’ Johnston Historical Marker”

[31] Wikipedia, “Willie Johnston (Medal of Honor)”

[32] Ibid.

[33] Ibid.

[34] Telling Their Stories, “Men of Honor, Part 4: A Little Drummer Boy,” May 11, 2021, https://www.telling-their-stories.org/post/men-of-honor-part-4-a-little-drummer-boy

[35] Wikipedia, “Willie Johnston (Medal of Honor)”

[36] Ibid.

[37] Civil War Wiki, “Willie Johnston (Medal of Honor recipient),” https://civilwar-history.fandom.com/wiki/Willie_Johnston_(Medal_of_Honor_recipient)

[38] Wikipedia, “Willie Johnston (Medal of Honor)”

[39] Ibid.

[40] Ibid.

[41] Memorialogy, “Who is the youngest recipient of the U.S. Medal of Honor?” https://memorialogy.com/p/120/who-is-the-youngest-recipient-of-the-us-medal-of-honor

[42] Coffee or Die, “Willie Johnston: The 11-Year-Old Civil War Drummer Boy Awarded the Medal of Honor”

[43] Civil War Wiki, “Willie Johnston (Medal of Honor recipient)”