Saturday, November 06, 1999
Village honors its boy soldier
Lil Gib went to war at 10
BY RICHELLE THOMPSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
PORT WILLIAM — This tiny village's claim to fame might have been lost in the mist of history were it not for one man's fascination with Abraham Lincoln and a 1939 book of poetry.
In 1995, Gary Kersey, an auctioneer and real estate broker by day, amateur historian by night, was thumbing through an old col lection of poetry, including a poem about President Lincoln, when he stumbled across a piece titled “Lil Gib.”
It talked of the youngest soldier in the Civil War, a boy barely 4 feet tall. It recounted Lil Gib's days as a drummer boy, then a messenger, and talked of his pony, Fannie Lee. At the end of the poem, it said Lil Gib returned home via Wilmington.
Mr. Kersey was hooked. He immediately started researching Lil Gib, born Gilbert Van Zandt, and found his birthplace was Port William, a four-street-wide village of 250 people about 10 miles north of Wilmington.
On Sunday, the village will celebrate its link to history by erecting a bronze historical mark er commemorating Mr. Van Zandt. Re-enacters will portray life in the 1860s, and representatives of the Ohio Army National Guard, including Brigadier Gen. Ken Robinson, will be on hand.
“This kid at 10 years old is probably the youngest enlisted person to ever serve in the armed forces of the United States,” Mr. Kersey said. “That's nothing to sneeze at.”
Mr. Kersey, who is writing a book on Lil Gib, gives frequent talks about the young soldier.
“Children get really excited about it,” he said. “It's something they can identify with.”
From his research, Mr. Kersey found that 10-year-old Lil Gib joined Company D, 79th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, along with his father and despite the protests of his mother.
Lil Gib started as a drummer boy, with the beats often signaling various commands to the troops. He had a pony because he was too small to ride a horse. Lil Gib saw action in the battles for Atlanta, Sherman's march to the sea and the Carolina campaign.
He was discharged from service at 13 and received a veteran's pension until he died in 1944 at the age of 92.
At some point, Lil Gib was forgotten and Port William's link to the Civil War buried.
Eva Stilwell, a 48-year resident of Port William and co-chair of the village's annual Dam City Days festival, is pleased the community's native son has been rediscovered.
“It's putting us on the map a little bit,” she said. “When you have something like that happen in your town, it kind of gives you a boost.”
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Village honors its boy soldier
