George S. Lamkin of Winona, Mississippi, joined Stanford's Mississippi Battery when he was eleven, and before his twelfth birthday was severly wounded at Shiloh.
George S. Lamkin (First_Last) Regiment Name Capt. Stanford's Co., Mississippi L. Art'y. Side Confederate Company Soldier's Rank_In Private Soldier's Rank_Out Private Alternate Name George S./Lampkin Notes Film Number M232 roll 23
"As he had on many previous mornings, Henry Cabell "Cab" Maddux, went to school in his hometown of Upperville, Virginia on February 20, 1864. He was barely fifteen years old, if that, a short, very fat boy. "Cab" cared little for school; martial dreams filled his head. He and his schoolmates had seen much of war during the past year. Just two nights ago Yankee horsemen rode into Upperville in the dark of early morning, searched the houses and hauled away a number of Mosby's men.
On this morning while "Cab" prepared for school, another column of "bluebelly" cavalry entered the vilage, once again hunting for guerrillas. The troopers in Upperville belonged to Cole's Cavalry 200 strong...
The presence of 200 blue-jacketed horsemen in the heart of Upper Fauquier did not pass unnoticed. John Mosby, Johnny Edmunds, Jake Lavender and John Munson were enjoying breakfast at Joseph Blackwell's "Heartland" residence when Jimmy Edmunds, Johnny's younger brother, burst into the house, shouting that Yankees were marching on the road to Piedmont. The four Rebels hurriedly mounted; Lavender grabbed two carbines; and they speeded toward the railroad stop. When the four arrived at a point which overlooked the few houses, Cole's men were watering their mounts. Mosby and Munson opened fire with the carbines, killing a trooper and a horse...
The gunfire had stirred up a small hornets' nest of Rangers. Between fifty and sixty of the Southerners joined Mosby outside of Piedmont as the tail of Cole's column disappeared towards Upperville. The Rangers pursued, stinging the rear guard of the Union troopers. By the time the Northerners reached Upperville, it was a horse race, both sides whipping their horses into a gallop. When the horsemen thundered past the school, the students were outside at recess. "Cab" Maddux's time had come. Mounting a horse, he followed the partisans (armed with nothing more than a McGuffy reader - vhp). School ended for the teenager; he was on a road filled with the dreams of a warrior. (Jeffry Wert: Mosby's Rangers)
Maddux was involved in quite a few more interesting situations including his actions during the famous "Greenback raid" on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. Maddux and several others were sent to keep watch while the train was being looted. This was essential as Union strongholds were relatively close to the scene of the assault. Hearing the looting and knowing he wasn't getting anything, Maddux rode back to the scene shouting that the Yankees were coming. The Rangers quickly mounted, but Mosby, sensing something amiss, sent other men to determine if this was the case. When he discovered that there was no Union force on the way, the men went back to looting and burning the train. Mosby then rode over to Maddux and told him that if he ever attempted to stampede his men again, he'd shoot him! Whether he would have or not, is questionable, but Maddux - an irrepressible youth - seemed unconcerned by his leader's displeasure and managed to salvage some loot for himself out of the operation.
Maddux was quite the jester and on one occasion, when a group of Rangers were crossing a river to avoid the fire of Union riflemen and Maddux thought he was receiving more than his fair share of the fire, the youth called in a loud voice to Ranger William Hibbs, MAJOR HIBBS! Move ahead! MAJOR HIBBS, move faster! Of course, the Yankees believing that there was an officer in the group, concentrated their fire on Hibbs who was jokingly called "Major" by the command though he was only a private. When the group crossed the river in safety, Hibbs yelled at Maddux that he had chosen a bad time to "get respectful"!
John Mosby, like Napoleon, preferred boys as soldiers because, he noted, they were too young to realize that they were not immortal and took chances that a more seasoned veteran or even an older man would not take. As Mosby himself had no fear at all, such followers were his ideal - though God knows, he had men like Hibbs (in his 60s) and men like the Chapman brothers, Fountaine Beattie and John Munson, all of whom were in the 20s and early 30s who proved just as brave as any foolish boy.
