The Kid Who Killed a Confederate Colonel
John Clem proved his mettle in bouts of hand-to-hand combat. He demonstrated that it is not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog. As Rebels and Yankees came to close quarter grips amidst the ferocious fighting that marked that battle, tiny Clem proved himself the equal of giants. During the course of the fighting, his army cap was pierced three times by bullets. Clem’s courage at Chickamauga was not enough to ward off defeat, however, and the Union Army came to grief.
On the afternoon of September 20th, at the close of the battle, Clem was one of the thousands of defeated federal soldiers separated from their units. They were in a chaotic retreat more like a flight than an orderly withdrawal. As he wearily lugged his sawed off rifle, Clem heard a horse approach from behind. When he looked back, there was a Confederate colonel on horseback, riding ahead of and urging along his pursuing Rebel soldiers. When he saw a little boy in Union blue toting a rifle, the colonel ordered Clem to “Drop that gun!” and surrender. Young Johnny turned around, coolly raised his rifle, took aim, and shot the Confederate colonel off his horse. He then hauled off at a mad sprint through brambles and brush, until he reached the safety of Union lines.