Would you ever run off to join the army, leaving your family behind? That's what nine-year-old John Lincoln Clem does in 1861.

Determined to fight for his country, Johnny sneaks onto a train filled with men from the 3rd Ohio Union Regiment. Taken in by the older soldiers, Johnny becomes a drummer boy, and later, takes up his own musket. As the war rages on, Johnny experiences the brutalities of battle as well as the rampant illness and gnawing hunger in between. But the most dangerous part of Johnny's journey is yet to come.

Based on a True Story books are exciting historical fiction about real children who lived through extraordinary times in American History. This title has Common Core connections.