William J Johnston: July 12, 1850 – September 16, 1941

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✪ William (“Willie”) J. Johnston was a Union drummer boy in Company D of the 3rd Vermont Infantry during the American Civil War. When his division was routed in the Seven Days Battles during the Peninsula Campaign of June to July 1862, he was the only drummer to return in possession of his instrument. His superiors considered this to be a meritorious feat; given how the regiment’s other soldiers had abandoned most of their guns and equipment in order to lighten their loads during their retreat. As a result, Johnston was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1863 at age of thirteen. He currently remains the youngest recipient of the award.

Willie Johnston was born in Morristown, New York, on July 12, 1850, the son of Eliza and William B. H. Johnston, both natives of England. Willie’s mother died while he was still young and by 1853, the family moved to Montreal, Canada where his father, William Sr. a civil engineer, married Thérèse E. Martin in Montreal’s St. George Anglican Church. In 1858, the Johnston family next relocated to Salem, Vermont (now part of Derby), where William Johnston either purchased or rented a farm. In the 1860 Federal Census, William Johnston Sr’s occupation of record is innkeeper; with the inn he operated probably being located in nearby Coventry.

In June 1861, Johnston’s father enlisted in the 3rd Vermont Infantry. The regiment mustered at St. Johnsbury on July 16. Willie Johnston was formally enlisted in Company D as a drummer on December 11, 1861, but was originally denied pay, because the regiment’s officers thought he was too young. In June 1862, he was finally approved to receive pay, which was backdated to his December 1861 enlistment. The regiment’s rolls at the time of his enlistment list him as 11 years old and five feet tall. His father, who was a member of Company B, attained the rank of corporal, and served in the regimental color guard.

The 3rd Vermont Infantry was assigned to Brooks’ 1st Vermont Brigade for McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign under the command of General William Farrar Smith

The regiment served in Virginia throughout the Peninsula Campaign including at the Seven Days Battles from June 25 to July 1, 1862. These battles ultimately resulted in victory for the Confederates; and on July 1, 1862, Smith’s division was posted to positions on Turkey Creek in Charles City County when it began its nighttime retreat. During the retreat, most of the men threw away all their equipment so they would have less weight to carry and could move more quickly, however, Johnston kept his drum. Early on the morning of July 2nd, the division arrived at Harrison’s Landing, with Johnston having carried his drum the entire way. At Harrison’s Landing, he had the honor of drumming for the division parade on July 4, since he was the only drummer in the division who had brought his instrument off the battlefield.

After the Peninsula Campaign, Johnston was reported as wounded, and was transferred to the Invalid Corps where he served as an attendant at the West’s Buildings Hospital in Baltimore while assigned to Company 60, 1st Battalion, Invalid Corps, which was later reorganized as the Veteran Reserve Corps. While assigned to the Veteran Reserve Corps, Johnston was appointed as drum major to play in the hospital’s band. Despite some bureaucratic issues with his military service documentation, Johnston re-enlisted in the 3rd Vermont Infantry at Brandy Station, Virginia, on February 15, 1864. He was finally mustered out of the service on August 31, 1865.

Despite the inability of historical researchers to locate official documentation regarding the specific circumstances of Johnston’s Medal of Honor action, the events were covered and recorded in contemporary newspaper accounts. According to the October 31, 1863 edition of The Caledonian of St. Johnsbury, which was reprinted in the Independent-Standard (Irasburg, Vermont) for October 31, 1863:

“Willie Johnston, 13 years old, a drummer boy in Co. D, 3d Vermont Regiment, has received a medal for his heroic conduct in the seven days fight before Richmond. On the retreat, when strong men threw away their guns, knapsacks and blankets that they might have less weight to carry, this little fellow kept his drum and brought it safely to Harrison’s Landing, where he had the honor of drumming for division parade, he being the only drummer who brought his drum from the field.”

The Caledonian story credits the division commander, General William Farrar Smith, as the officer who made the recommendation to recognize Johnston’s heroism for the Medal Of Honor. In addition, the story indicates Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton presented the medal to Johnston at a War Department ceremony. Johnston’s personnel file also contains a receipt he signed for Stanton’s adjutant which acknowledges Johnston actually received his decoration.

In 1916, the Department of War appointed a panel to review all awards of the Medal of Honor in order to determine whether any should be revoked for failing to meet the eligibility criteria. The board reviewed the files on 2,625 awards; including 1,517 presented for action during the Civil War. 911 Medal of Honor awards were revoked, but Johnston’s was allowed to stand.

The details of Johnston’s early like and education are not known, but he was definitely proficient with written English and other topics. Surviving letters about his reenlistment and pay issues prepared in his own handwriting, are highly literate, and display a proficient grasp of grammar, punctuation, and the ability to communicate detailed information clearly and concisely. He attended Norwich University from 1866 to 1868, but left without graduating. In 1867 Johnston, competed for an entry position at the United States Military Academy, but was not selected. In the late 1860s, Johnston also played in the St. Johnsbury’s town band.

After the war in the late 1860’s, Johnston moved to Charlestown, Massachusetts where he married Nellie Murphy on March 1, 1870. Together they had five children and lived at 65 Tremont Street. During this time, Johnston worked as a machinist.

In May 1888, newspapers reported on the discovery of Johnston’s drum at a private home in Chelsea, Massachusetts; identified by a silver commemorative plaque on the back. The drum was subsequently turned over to the curator of the Civil War relic room at the Massachusetts State House.

News accounts about Johnston’s drum sparked an interest among newspaper editors in Vermont to attempt to locate him. Johnston’s father, by that time a resident of Colorado, visited St. Johnsbury later in May and indicated Johnston had been a resident of Charlestown before becoming a member of the “naval service,” which William Johnston Sr stated had been his son’s occupation for several years.

Unfortunately, United States naval records for that period do not corraborate details on any “William Johnston” which can be conclusively identified as being Johnston; raising the possibility he may served under an assumed name or alias in a support role which would not have required him to be identified on Navy muster or pay rolls, such as continuing work as a machinist.

The Massachusetts State House was later searched after Johnston’s drum mysteriously disappeared but was never located. It’s whereabouts remain unknown today and numerous subsequent attempts to locate it have all proven unsuccessful. In 1890, a newspaper account indicates Johnston’s father requested that the plaque from his son’s drum be sent to him because Johnston was no longer alive. However, Johnston was not dead in 1890, as evidenced by the Chelsea city directories for the late 1880s, 1890s, and early 1900s, which listed him as a “mariner” and then a “master mariner” indicating he pursued a career as a merchant sailor and ship captain.

In July 1899, Johnston was also listed among the attendees at the Medal of Honor Legion reunion in Burlington, Vermont. He was also known to be alive in 1917 and after, because even though he never applied for the veteran’s pension or monthly bonus for which he was entitled as a Medal Of Honor recipient; his War Department personnel file indicates in 1917 he applied to receive of the Civil War Campaign Medal, which in 1913 became available to Union Army veterans. The exact date, his address, and other details are not included in his War Department file.

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Scattered sources indicate Johnston died at an unknown location on September 16, 1941 of old age; however, no official, recorded references to support this information has ever been found. In addition, Johnston’s burial location is unknown, and all attempts to locate it have proven unsuccessful. ✪