Central City in Linn County, Iowa — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Mancil V. Root

E Co 36th Wisc. Infantry

— Youngest soldier in Union Army, Age 9 —

Mancil V. Root Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 18, 2025

1. Mancil V. Root Marker

Inscription.
Mancil "Manny" V. Root, Musician (rank equivalent to PVT) served with Company E of the 36th Wisconsin Infantry. He was the youngest veteran of the Civil War and enlisted when he was 11 years old.

Mancil V. Root settled in Linn County for his last 25 years. Root was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1853, and enlisted with Co. E, 36th Wisconsin Infantry after his father passed away.

Root's Regiment was in a number of actions, and he was wounded and taken prisoner at the Battle of the Wilderness, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, 1864. After the War, he lived in Wisconsin and eventually moved to Cedar Rapids. He was known to play the drums on patriotic occasions, and was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) T. Z. Cook Post that met in the Veterans Memorial Building. At the age of 75, Root was crossing a street in Cedar Rapids and was struck by an automobile. He regrettably passed a few days later, and is buried in Oak Shade Cemetery, Marion.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Patriots & Patriotism • War, US Civil. A significant historical year for this entry is 1864.

Location. 42° 11.734′ N,

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91° 31.672′ W. Marker is in Central City, Iowa, in Linn County. It is on Central City Road 0.3 miles east of Marion Road (Iowa Route 13), on the right when traveling east. The marker and Linn County Freedom Rock are located in a covered shelter on the south side of the Central City Road and River Street intersection, near the Linn County Fairgrounds. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 201 Central City Road, Central City IA 52214, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Eastern Iowa. It is also in the American Midwest

and in the Corn Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: LTC Charles A. Clark (here, next to this marker); PFC Nicholas Aberle (here, next to this marker); Paul Warfield Tibbets Jr. (here, next to this marker); Salvatore Guinta, SSG (here,

Marker detail: Mancil V. Root image. Click for full size.

2. Marker detail: Mancil V. Root

next to this marker); Robert Naughton (here, next to this marker); Central City Freedom Rock Veterans Memorial (here, next to this marker); J. C. Clegg Building (approx. 0.7 miles away); Amvets Auxiliary Coggon Honors its War Dead (approx. 5.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Central City.

Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. Central City Freedom Rock Veterans Memorial

Also see . . .
1. Mancil V. Root Volunteered for Civil War When a Lad (NY Times).

(Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 7/7/1929) Excerpt: Mancil V. Root, who enlisted in the Civil War at the age of eleven, died here today at the age of 75 from injuries suffered in an automobile accident. Mr. Root was born at Sheboygan, Wis. His father was killed in the battle of Lookout Mountain. At one time Sheboygan was called on to furnish a quota of volunteers. The town fell fifty short, and the citizens were told that unless the quota was filled there would be a draft. Young Root immediately volunteered, but was rejected. Knowing that there was a $400 mortgage on the home and that his mother would receive a
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 18, 2025

3. Mancil V. Root Marker
The marker is mounted near the base of the west side of the Linn County Freedom Rock.
bounty of $500 if he enlisted, the boy persuaded the enlisting officer to see his mother. She consented and he served to the end of the war.

(Submitted on October 13, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

2. Mancil V. “Manny” Root (Find A Grave).

(Oak Shade Cemetery, Marion, Linn County, Iowa, USA) Excerpt: He was the youngest enlisted for the Civil War at age 11, as the Drummer Boy.

(Submitted on October 13, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

3. Child soldiers in the American Civil War (Wikipedia). (Submitted on October 13, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Linn County Freedom Rock & Shelter (<i>west side</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 18, 2025

4. Linn County Freedom Rock & Shelter (west side)

Mancil V. Root is honored on the west side of the Linn County Freedom Rock.

Credits. This page was last revised on October 13, 2025. It was originally submitted on October 10, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 90 times since then and 45 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on October 13, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.