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Welcome to DennisKeesee.com

Dedicated to underage American soldiers, hosted by Dennis M. Keesee, author of Too Young To Die: Boy Soldiers of the Union Army 1861-1865.

Civil War

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The main focus of this site is to share information and stories of and about underage Civil War soldiers. During 1861-1865 over 200,000 aged 17 or below served in the Union Army. The Confederacy likewise enlisted thousands for its cause. Most served as drummer boys, musicians and orderlies. Countless managed to serve in the ranks carrying muskets . Additional information regarding young soldiers in TYTD will be added to “The Rest of the Story” section from our collection’s many files and photographs. As new soldier information is acquired we will share some in stories or soldiers photographs sections. If there is a particular soldier you have questions about, please inquire on the message board or contact Dennis. We encourage those with information or photographs of underage soldiers to share that knowledge with others interested in boy soldiers, or “drummer boys.”

World War II and Other Wars

If you are a veteran who served at 17 years or younger please share your history here! In 2002 Dennis was honored to be invited by Evelyn Brouse as the guest speaker at the American Veterans that Enlisted Underage (AVTEU) annual reunion in Peoria, Illinois. It was a wonderful experience where we met many interesting vets who served. If you would like to know more about this organization go to the contacts page. If you know of a family member or friend that served, please tell them of our mission to gather stories of those that served underage.

Dennis M. Keesee & TYTD

For over 20 years Dennis has collected information on our country’s boy soldiers. Following TYTD’s 2001 release, Dennis has traveled extensively speaking about TYTD and its boys. Please visit our About the Author page If you are interested in having Dennis speak to your organization. Click on the small book icon above for information surrounding Dennis Keesee’s book Too Young To Die including reviews, “The Rest of the Story,” past events, authors’ commentary and more.

Only For Fun

As we want you to leave with a little bit of our personalities we will be sharing photos of our family and friends, as well as interesting tidbits from time to time. We want this to be an educational as well as entertaining site. Please let us know if you have any ideas to help improve the site.