34. The Photogenic Powder Monkey
One of the most remarkable photographs depicting child combatants in the US Civil War is that of Boy 1st Class Aspinwall Fuller, above. Taken in 1865, it shows the lad, fourteen years old, standing beside a 100-pound Parrot gun aboard the USS New Hampshire, a 74 gun ship of the line. His very presence aboard ship was against regulations, but as happens often in war, regulations were ignored.
In 1861, President Lincoln issued a directive prohibiting the enlistment of underage recruits without their parents’ consent. However, heavy casualties and the war’s insatiable demand for fresh bodies led many recruiters to look the other way if a child tried to enlist. Which explains how Fuller joined the US Navy at age thirteen, without parental consent.