The Civil War's youngest soldier - Wm. BALES - 1911

BALES

Posted By: Joey Stark
Date: 5/15/2011 at 15:18:42

"The Brighton Enterprise"
Saturday, July 22, 1911
Page 1, Column 6

It seems that to the little town of Pleasant Plain, Iowa, belongs the honor of furnishing the youngest soldier who served in the Civil War. Wm. BALES, son of Mr. and Mrs. Caleb BALES, was born at Pleasant Plain June 29 1850 and ran off and enlisted at Burlington in the winter of 1864 (1861?). He had to stretch his age several years to get in as a recruit, but his size helped to pass him along and he was regularly enrolled as a member of Co. C (K?), Seventh Iowa Infantry, and served until the war was over.... with Sherman in the Atlanta campaign....

*Transcribed for genealogy purposes; I am not related to the person(s) mentioned.