Abstract:
In 1864, the number of Southern soldiers available for the war had dwindled after three years of hard fighting. To get more soldiers, the Confederate Congress changed the military age from to 18 to 45 and extended it to 17 through 50. McKethan reports on the service of these Junior Reserves, ages 17 to 18, in North Carolina. Among the places they saw action was in Virginia and in North Carolina at Kinston, Plymouth, Fort Fisher, and Bentonville.