Meet John Clem, the Youngest Soldier to Fight in the Civil War

Our American Stories

iHeartPodcasts

Society & Culture, Documentary

4.3 • 737 Ratings

🗓️ 4 August 2025

⏱️ 16 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On this episode of Our American Stories, at an age when most kids were still in school, John Clem was marching into battle. He joined the Union Army as a drummer boy at just 12 and quickly became a symbol of bravery. Wounded at Chickamauga and promoted on the field, he was known across the country as “Johnny Clem.” Kristin O’Donnell Tubb shares the true story of one of the Civil War’s most remarkable young soldiers and how his courage helped shape his place in history.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is an IHeart podcast.
0:04.4	Summer's here and with the kids home and off to camp, it's easy for moms to get lost in the shuffle.
0:09.0	On good mom's bad choices, we're making space to center ourselves with joy, rest, and pleasure.
0:14.1	Take the kids to camp.
0:15.5	You know what?
0:16.3	It was expensive.
0:17.7	But I was also thinking, you have my kid.
0:20.0	This is kind of priceless.
0:21.5	Take her, feed her, make core memories.
0:24.5	I don't have to do anything.
0:26.1	Main thing, I don't have to do anything.
0:29.3	To hear this and more, listen to Good Mom's Bad Choices from Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.
0:38.3	I also want to address the Tonys.
0:41.8	On a recent episode of Checking Game with Michelle Williams, I open up about feeling
0:46.7	snubbed by the Tony Awards.
0:48.8	Do I?
0:49.9	I was never mad.
0:51.6	I was disappointed because I had high hopes.
0:54.9	To hear this and more on disappointment and protecting your peace,
0:59.0	listen to checking in with Michelle Williams from the Black Effect Podcast Network
1:03.1	on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.
1:09.4	Welcome to Pretty Private with Ebeney, the podcast where silence is broken and stories are set free.
	...

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