[denydenydeny]

And at the other extreme, the future president Andrew Jackson was wounded (at Yorktown?) when he was 14 years old.

I remember a couple of years ago when the movie The Patriot came out, and the film depicted 12 and 13 year olds fighting in the Revolution, and how horrified the usual suspects were at that.

[Pharmboy]

James Monroe was a brave 17 year old who, along with General Washington's cousin, was ordered to charge a Hessian artillery position at Trenton and wounded. They took out the Hessian position, BTW.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

And at the other extreme, the future president Andrew Jackson was wounded (at Yorktown?) when he was 14 years old William Clinton evaded the inconvience of military service by reneging on an agreement to join ROTC and vilified his own country's armed forces while "studying" abroad.

[GAB-1955]

Jackson, then 13 and living in South Carolina, was captured with his brother in the desperate fighting in the backcountry in 1780. A British dragoon ordered Jackson to shine his boots. Jackson declined, saying he was a prisoner of war. The dragoon then brought his saber down upon Jackson's head. He turned, thus resulting in a wound and a scar for life; his brother Russel was demanded the same service. He received a blow which resulted in his death several months later.

Damn all Tories now and forever.

[Reily]

I don't remember ever reading that Jackson was at Yorktown?
There was a story that Jackson was slashed on the arm with a saber because he refused to shine the boots of a Redcoat officer. Jackson used the story in his political campaigns. A lot of historians doubt its authenticity, and view it as campaign rhetoric.

The movie 'The Patriot' was a very good movie BUT extremely poor history. The character played by Mel Gibson was a combination of 4 Revolutionary War southern heroes: Daniel Morgan, Thomas Sumter, Francis Marion & Andrew Pickens. (Primarily Daniel Morgan & Francis Marion!) Thats why I found the movie simultaneously annoying and entertaining. Morgan, Marion etc. have essentially been forgotten ! The battle at then end of the 'Patriot' movie was a bad telling of Morgan's brilliant victory at the "Battle of the Cowpens".One of the most decisive & complete victories of the war.
I also found the Tarleton character Tavington to be irritating. Tarleton was a "hard war type"but he wasn't a member of the Waffen SS. That church burning was straight copy of a SS atrocity in France. We have REAL HEROS in our history why can't their story be told ! Also history is a drama no Hollywood writer can improve on !
Aside:
I have never understood Mel Gibson's apparent dislike of the British. He overplays their medieval nastiness in Braveheart (Remember in the Middle Ages life was cheap, brutal nasty & short and only a little less by the barest of margins if you were a 'good guy'!) Also in Chicken Run he makes them buffoons !
I wonder if this is his Aussie upbringing!