In 1861, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln called for volunteers to fight for the Union Army as the Civil War broke out between the northern and southern states.

In 1861, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln called for volunteers to fight for the Union Army as the Civil War broke out between the northern and southern states.

Many eagerly answered his summons, including one unlikely soldier: a nine-year-old boy named John Clem. Young John first tried to join the 3rd Ohio Infantry Regiment, but they refused him due to his age.

He then turned to the 22nd Michigan, and the officers reluctantly agreed to let him tag along as an unofficial drummer boy. They also paid his monthly salary of $13 out of their own pockets.

John reportedly carried around a musket that was sawed down to fit his short stature, and he quickly attracted media attention on both sides of the conflict.

Confederate newspapers even used him as anti-Union propaganda, stating: "What sore straits the Yankees are driven, when they have to send their babies out to fight us.

But in 1863, 12-year-old John proved his worth when he became the youngest noncommissioned officer in the history of the U.S. Army after his heroics at the Battle of Chickamauga.