To the memory of Clarence D. McKenzie twelve years of age
Clarence D. McKenzie (1849-1861) was only twelve when he had the misfortune to be the first Brooklynite killed in the Civil War. He left the city with Brooklyn’s Thirteenth Regiment. According to Greenwood Cemetery where his remains were interred, “While camped in Annapolis, Maryland, he was accidentally killed in his tent by a stray bullet fired by his fellows at arms drilling nearby.” The statue is cast from zinc and was recently restored by the cemetery at a cost of 15,000 dollars.
The head of the statue was made separately from the body and was based on a likeness of Clarence. The statue is inscribed “Our Drummer Boy.”
Our Drummer Boy is laid to rest in the Soldier’s Plot at Greenwood which was created to meet the needs of Brooklyn families that did not want their loved ones in the nearby national cemetery.
All photos by Pat Young.
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