ABSTRACT
Twelve-year-old Johnny Clem knew the dispatch he was carrying was important. Union Major General George H. Thomas was counting on Clem to get the message to his troops. Shots whistled around Clem, and he urged his horse to go faster. But the horse stumbled and fell—it had been hit by a Confederate bullet. Clem scrambled to his feet. He couldn’t help his horse, and the longer he stayed on the battlefield, the more likely it was that Clem himself would be shot. He did what he knew he had to do and ran to the front to deliver his message.
