When President Abraham Lincoln called for 100,000 volunteers to fill the ranks of the Union Army in 1861, long lines of men and boys streamed into recruiting centers across the nation. Local volunteer regiments formed in small towns and big cities across the North.
    In August, 1861 the Third Volunteer Company, organized by Captain Samuel Mott in Delphos, Ohio, was mustered into the Army at St. Mary's Ohio. Among the eager recruits was an eight year old, fatherless boy, named Avery Brown. The minimum age for enlistment during the Civil War was eighteen years old, though younger boys were sometimes allowed to enlist with parental consent. But eight years old was far too young, and Avery was turned away.
    Born September 28, 1852, the red haired, blue eyed youngster had a harsh childhood but did not allow it to dampen his spirits. Avery endeared himself to enlistees by playing his snare drum as a morale booster at the recruitment station and Captain Mott took the young boy under his wing. Captain Mott decided that the 4 foot 6 inch tall boy had as much spirit as any full grown man under his command, and if Avery wanted to serve his country, he damned sure should be allowed to serve!
    Twice Avery accompanied new recruits to Camp Chase in Columbus Ohio, and twice he was denied permission to enlist. On the third trip, Captain Mott refused to allow the processing of the latest batch of 101 recruits, unless the drummer boy was also allowed to volunteer. " I have come here with 101 men who are ready to enlist on one condition, that our drummer boy be mustered in with us and permitted to go to the front. Otherwise we disband right here and return home. "Captain Mott declared.
    The Army needed those men, so permission was reluctantly granted, and on August 18, 1861, Avery Brown was mustered into Company C, 31st Ohio Volunteer Infantry,
at the age of 8 years,11 months, and 13 days, making him the youngest enlisted soldier in the Civil War.
    Four days later Avery's unit assimilated into the 118th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, under Captain Rudolph Ruel. On September 11 they left Cincinnati by railroad, and on the 15th the unit crossed the Ohio River and stopped at Covington, Kentucky.
    The 118th then moved on to East Tennessee, crossing the Cumberland Mountains to engage heavily entrenched Rebel forces at Loudin, Tennessee. The enemy was routed and the victorious 118th marched to Knoxville, where they met strong resistance and were forced to withdraw back to Loudin. They advanced to Kingston, Tennessee, where they remained during the seventeen day siege of Knoxville.
    When the Confederate forces withdrew from Knoxville, Avery's unit marched to Tunnel Hill near Chattanooga. From there the 188th joined the Georgia Campaign. their next contact with the enemy was at Resaca, georgia on May 25, 1863 where the Rebels were forced to retreat. From then until the end of the Battle of Atlanta, they were constantly under fire and took many casualties.
    Along the way, Avery was presented with a captured Confederate drum at Burton's Station, Virginia. He carried it for one and a half years during which he was called the "Drummer Boy of Cumberland." Avery Brown served on the front lines for eighteen months, during some of the bloodiest battles the 118th fought, until illness forced him to take a disability discharge in 1863. By the time of his discharge, he had suffered from mumps, measles and rheumatism, the latter making it necessary for him to quit the Army. Stoic in the face of so much human suffering, the young boy had tears in his eyes as he left his company for the last time. In June and July of 1865, the majority of the unit's survivors were mustered out. Of the 1,000 men enlisted in the 188th Regiment, only 400 returned home.
    After his discharge, Avery lived in Delphos, Ohio for three years. In 1866 he moved to Elkhart, Indiana where he worked as a stonecutter and musician. Over the next 25 years, Avery Brown organized bands through out Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio, becoming one of the Hoosier state's best known solo cornetists. He became close friends with Charles Gerard Conn, who owned the Elkhart-based Conn Musical Instrument Company, and became a member of Conn's Veteran Light Artillery, the only all-veteran company of its kind to be formed following the war. Due to his friendship with Conn, Avery was in a unique position to test every new Conn cornet model as it came out of the factory. In recognition of Avery Brown's service to his country, and as a tribute to their friendship, Conn presented Avery with a special gold plated engraved cornet, which became Avery's most cherished possession.
    Avery and his wife Cynthia left Elkhart during the 1890's to move to Texas, Wisconsin, and then Michigan, but they returned to Elkhart a few years later, where he lived the remainder of his years.
    The youngest Civil War veteran died at his Elkart home on November 2, 1904. and is buried in Elkhart's Grace Lawn Cemetery. The captured Confederate drum he played is on display at the Elkhart County Historical Museum in Bristol, Indiana, along with his discharge papers and a tintype photograph of the young "Drummer Boy Of Cumberland."

    President Abraham Lincoln's 1861 call for an additional 100,000 troops to swell the ranks of the Union Army was met with enthusiastic response and long lines at local recruiting centers. Perhaps it was all the excitement and commotion at the Delphos, Ohio, recruiting station that first attracted the attention of Avery Brown, an eight-year-old, fatherless boy. Or perhaps it was the attention showered on him by the veteran, Samuel Mott, who encouraged the 4'6", blue eyed, red-haired youngster to play his snare drum as a morale booster at the recruitment station.
    Twice Avery accompanied new recruits to Camp Chase in Columbus, Ohio. Twice he was denied permission to enlist. On the third trip, Samuel Mott refused to allow the processing of the latest batch of 101 recruits, unless the drummer boy was also allowed to volunteer. Reluctant permission was granted, and on August 18, 1861, Avery Brown was mustered into Company C, 31st Ohio Volunteer Infantry, at the age of 8 years, 11 months, and 13 days. Like many enthusiastic young patriots of his day, he lied about his age, claiming to be 12 on his enlistment papers.
    Brown proudly persevered on the front for 1-1/2 years, so inspiring the troops with his martial music played on a captured Confederate drum, that he was dubbed "The Drummer Boy of the Cumberland," until illness forced him to take a disability discharge in 1863. Three years later, Brown followed his friend, Nelson Doty, to Elkhart, Indiana, where he secured employment as a stonecutter and musician.
    In the course of the next 25 years, Avery Brown organized bands throughout Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio, and became one of Indiana's best known solo cornetists. He befriended the Elkhart musical instrument manufacturer, Charles Gerard Conn, and became an enthusiastic member of Conn's Veteran Light Artillery, the only all-veteran company of it's kind to be formed in the United States following the war. As a result of their close association, Avery was in a unique position to witness and test every new Conn cornet model, as it came out of the factory.
    For the November 1891 issue of C. G. Conn's Truth, a photo engraving by the firm of Butler and Knox was made from an 1887 cabinet card photograph of Avery Brown posing with his new gold plated Conn Wonder cornet, the hand engraving on which alone was said to have cost upwards of $200. A 4" x 5-1/2" print of the 1887 Avery Brown photograph was acquired by the Museum for inclusion in its Conn Company Archive. It bears Avery Brown's autograph on the back of the mounting and was presented by Brown to another Civil War veteran, Louis Germain (born in Clinton County, New York, in 1836), who is known to have worked as a clerk in a wholesale house in Goshen, Indiana, just a few miles from Elkhart.
    A close examination of the photograph by a researcher in Illinois, Kathy Zavada, confirmed that Brown is wearing a uniform of the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.). The long badge pinned to his jacket is a G.A.R. membership badge made in the early 1880s by J. K. Dawson, from melted down Confederate cannons mixed with other alloys.
    Avery and his wife, Cynthia, left Elkhart during the 1890s to live in Texas, Wisconsin, and Michigan, but returned before the end of the century. The famous Civil War veteran died at his Elkhart home on November 2, 1904, and was buried in Elkhart's Grace Lawn Cemetery where his tombstone commemorates his distinction as the Civil War's youngest enlisted soldier. Although the whereabouts of his Wonder Cornet is unknown, the Confederate drum is preserved at the Elkhart County Historical Museum in Bristol, Indiana, along with his discharge papers and a tintype of the young "Drummer Boy of the Cumberland."