October 17, 2023 • 9 mins
If today's stories are any indication, an early start at your dream job is a good thing. But it never guarantees a happy ending.
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of
iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of
the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all
of these amazing tales right there on display, just waiting
for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities.
(00:36):
On the night of September tenth of two thousand and one,
a man lounged on a couch in a New York
City hotel suite. Outside his window, the bright lights of
Manhattan cut through the darkness. He could see the twin
towers jutting upwards, taller than any other buildings in the city.
The man hadn't felt this good in a long time.
His whole body was exhausted from the show he'd put
(00:57):
on a few hours before. But it was okay because
his tour was finally over, and for once he wasn't
alone in his hotel room. His relatives were there with him.
You see, this man was always traveling, always away from home,
always missing his family. But that night, his mom and
his sister sat across from him, smiling and laughing. I
don't know what they talked about. Maybe they told stories
(01:20):
about when the man was just a kid, even back
then he'd been a star. Maybe they told him how
great that evening show had been, how excited the fans
at Madison Square Garden had been. Or maybe they asked
him what he had going on the next day. If
they did, he would have told them this. The very
next morning, September eleventh of two thousand and one, he
had a meeting on the top floor of the World
(01:42):
Trade Center. Whatever they talked about, it must have been
a great conversation, because the man's mom and sister didn't
leave his hotel room until four o'clock in the morning.
By the time they were gone, he was totally drained.
He barely remembered to set his alarm before he crawled
into bed and fell asleep. Next morning, at eight forty
six am, American Airlines Flight eleven crashed into the North
(02:04):
Tower of the World Trade Center. Seventeen minutes later, Flight
one P seventy five struck the South tower. In the process,
Manhattan became the setting of the deadliest terrorist attack in
US history, with over three thousand people killed. Rubble littered
the ground, smoke rose high into the air, and first
responders risked their lives to save others. Across the country,
(02:25):
new stations played footage of the horrifying tragedy. Even today,
it would be difficult to find a single person over
the age of thirty that doesn't remember exactly where they
were the moment they heard the news. Back then, though,
word was still spreading, and in that New York City
hotel room, the man's alarm beaped and beaped and beaped.
He should have been inside the World Trade Center at
(02:47):
the very moment the plane struck, but he was so
tired that he had slept through his alarm. It wasn't
until the sounds of explosions and sirens broke out that
he woke up, got out of bed, and ran to
his window. A peaceful scene from the night before was gone.
The twin towers were in shambles. Just as he began
to understand what happened, the man's hotel phone rang. He
(03:10):
picked it up and heard his mom's frantic voice on
the other end. She wanted to make sure that her
son was alive, he told her, and I quote mother,
I'm okay. Thanks to you. You kept me up talking
so late that I overslept and missed my appointment and
listen the last I slept through my alarm. It pretty
much ruined my whole day. But I can't even begin
to imagine how grateful this man must have been. He
(03:32):
went on to live for another eight years, but those
were trying times for him. The man who had once
sold out shows at Madison Square Garden became the subject
of widespread controversy. Fame, something that he had had since
he was eleven years old, took its toll. His legacy
had been damaged time and time again, and this might
be what inspired his brother to write a memoir. The
(03:52):
story about this man narrowly escaping nine to eleven was
revealed in his brother's book, which was published in twenty eleven.
It also gives more intimate details of the man's life
and reminds readers that while he was a complicated and
often troubled figure, the impact he made on music and
pop culture is undeniable. Without him, there would be no Moonwalk,
(04:13):
no glittery White Glove, no thriller Knights. After all, he
was Michael Jackson, the King of pop. In September of
(04:35):
eighteen sixty three, the Civil War was at its height.
The Union and Confederate armies faced off in northwestern Georgia
in a conflict now known as the Battle of Chickamauga.
It was a horrible, brutal fight, becoming the second deadliest
battle of the Civil War, only behind Gettysburg. But in
the midst of this fighting stood a very curious soldier.
(04:56):
His name was John Clem. He was from Ohio, and
he left to join the Union Army a little over
two years prior. At first, he served as a drummer
for Michigan's twenty second Regiment, but anxious to do more,
he quickly traded his drumsticks for a musket. When the
twenty second Regiment entered the Battle of Chickamauga on September
eighteenth of eighteen sixty three, John Clem marched alongside them
(05:17):
for two days. They fought for two days. They stuck together,
Then disaster struck. A group of Confederate soldiers surrounded them.
John became separated from the rest of his regiment. When
he looked up, he found himself staring straight into the
eyes of a Confederate colonel. The colonel sized John Clem
up and said, and I quote, I think the best
thing a mite of a chap like you can do
(05:39):
is drop that gun. But John Clem did not drop
his gun, quite the opposite. He lifted the musket, aimed
it right at the colonel and shot. Then he turned
around and sprinted away as fast as he possibly could
and behind him. The colonel yelled out some choice words,
calling John a damned little Yankee devil. But John probably
did hear that bit. He'd managed to make it back
(06:02):
across the Union lines and was safely with his fellow fighters.
Although the Confederate Army won the battle that day, John
Clem survived, and he would soon be honored for his
bravery against the colonel. He was promoted from soldier to sergeant,
which meant that he was now officially an officer in
the US Army. The only catch was John Clem was
twelve years old. It's crazy, I know. It was a
(06:24):
journey that started just a few years earlier too. John's
mother had died when he was nine years old, and
after she was gone, he ran away from home in
the hope of joining the army. He'd actually been turned
away from at least one other regiment on account of
the whole thing of being a child. Before the twenty
second Michigan regiment accepted him. When they did finally let
him in, it was only so that he could be
(06:46):
a sort of unofficial mascot slash drummer boy. He was
more like an adopted child who the other soldiers took
care of than an actual member of the US military.
But John kept insisting that he wasn't there to drum,
he was there to fight. Eventually, his commander agreed that
he could have a musket, although they had to saw
part of the end off to make it light enough
(07:06):
for the child to carry. Regardless, at the Battle of Chickamauga,
John clem clearly proved that he met business. Still, for
all his bravery, there was the pesky problem of being
a minor. About a year later, in July of eighteen
sixty four, the US War Department announced that it would
be instituting strict penalties for anyone who allowed boys under
(07:28):
the age of sixteen to enlist, So John's commanding officer
was forced to let him go. He told the boy,
in so many words, that he ought to trade the
musket for a pencil and go to school. John followed
his commander's orders. From his new place in a high
school classroom. He kept in touch with his friends from
Michigan's twenty second Regiment, and when he graduated in eighteen seventy,
(07:49):
he received nomination to West Point from none other than
President Ulysses S. Grant, But that didn't go quite as
planned either. John failed the West Point entrance exam. However,
due to his highly unique experience, President Grant appointed John
as an army lieutenant. Anyway, John Clem spent the next
forty four years in the military, eventually rising to the
(08:10):
rank of major general. When he retired in nineteen fifteen,
he was the last active duty member who had served
in the Civil War. He died in nineteen thirty seven
and is now buried at Arlington National Cemetery with a
headstone that says John Lincoln Clem, the Drummer Boy of Chickamauga,
a fitting nickname for such a strange soldier. I hope
(08:38):
you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities.
Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about
the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show
was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with hou
Stuff Works. I make another award winning show called Lore
which is a podcast, book series, and television show and
(09:00):
you can learn all about it over at Theworldoflore dot com.
And until next time, stay curious.
Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of
iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of
the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all
of these amazing tales right there on display, just waiting
for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities.
(00:36):
On the night of September tenth of two thousand and one,
a man lounged on a couch in a New York
City hotel suite. Outside his window, the bright lights of
Manhattan cut through the darkness. He could see the twin
towers jutting upwards, taller than any other buildings in the city.
The man hadn't felt this good in a long time.
His whole body was exhausted from the show he'd put
(00:57):
on a few hours before. But it was okay because
his tour was finally over, and for once he wasn't
alone in his hotel room. His relatives were there with him.
You see, this man was always traveling, always away from home,
always missing his family. But that night, his mom and
his sister sat across from him, smiling and laughing. I
don't know what they talked about. Maybe they told stories
(01:20):
about when the man was just a kid, even back
then he'd been a star. Maybe they told him how
great that evening show had been, how excited the fans
at Madison Square Garden had been. Or maybe they asked
him what he had going on the next day. If
they did, he would have told them this. The very
next morning, September eleventh of two thousand and one, he
had a meeting on the top floor of the World
(01:42):
Trade Center. Whatever they talked about, it must have been
a great conversation, because the man's mom and sister didn't
leave his hotel room until four o'clock in the morning.
By the time they were gone, he was totally drained.
He barely remembered to set his alarm before he crawled
into bed and fell asleep. Next morning, at eight forty
six am, American Airlines Flight eleven crashed into the North
(02:04):
Tower of the World Trade Center. Seventeen minutes later, Flight
one P seventy five struck the South tower. In the process,
Manhattan became the setting of the deadliest terrorist attack in
US history, with over three thousand people killed. Rubble littered
the ground, smoke rose high into the air, and first
responders risked their lives to save others. Across the country,
(02:25):
new stations played footage of the horrifying tragedy. Even today,
it would be difficult to find a single person over
the age of thirty that doesn't remember exactly where they
were the moment they heard the news. Back then, though,
word was still spreading, and in that New York City
hotel room, the man's alarm beaped and beaped and beaped.
He should have been inside the World Trade Center at
(02:47):
the very moment the plane struck, but he was so
tired that he had slept through his alarm. It wasn't
until the sounds of explosions and sirens broke out that
he woke up, got out of bed, and ran to
his window. A peaceful scene from the night before was gone.
The twin towers were in shambles. Just as he began
to understand what happened, the man's hotel phone rang. He
(03:10):
picked it up and heard his mom's frantic voice on
the other end. She wanted to make sure that her
son was alive, he told her, and I quote mother,
I'm okay. Thanks to you. You kept me up talking
so late that I overslept and missed my appointment and
listen the last I slept through my alarm. It pretty
much ruined my whole day. But I can't even begin
to imagine how grateful this man must have been. He
(03:32):
went on to live for another eight years, but those
were trying times for him. The man who had once
sold out shows at Madison Square Garden became the subject
of widespread controversy. Fame, something that he had had since
he was eleven years old, took its toll. His legacy
had been damaged time and time again, and this might
be what inspired his brother to write a memoir. The
(03:52):
story about this man narrowly escaping nine to eleven was
revealed in his brother's book, which was published in twenty eleven.
It also gives more intimate details of the man's life
and reminds readers that while he was a complicated and
often troubled figure, the impact he made on music and
pop culture is undeniable. Without him, there would be no Moonwalk,
(04:13):
no glittery White Glove, no thriller Knights. After all, he
was Michael Jackson, the King of pop. In September of
(04:35):
eighteen sixty three, the Civil War was at its height.
The Union and Confederate armies faced off in northwestern Georgia
in a conflict now known as the Battle of Chickamauga.
It was a horrible, brutal fight, becoming the second deadliest
battle of the Civil War, only behind Gettysburg. But in
the midst of this fighting stood a very curious soldier.
(04:56):
His name was John Clem. He was from Ohio, and
he left to join the Union Army a little over
two years prior. At first, he served as a drummer
for Michigan's twenty second Regiment, but anxious to do more,
he quickly traded his drumsticks for a musket. When the
twenty second Regiment entered the Battle of Chickamauga on September
eighteenth of eighteen sixty three, John Clem marched alongside them
(05:17):
for two days. They fought for two days. They stuck together,
Then disaster struck. A group of Confederate soldiers surrounded them.
John became separated from the rest of his regiment. When
he looked up, he found himself staring straight into the
eyes of a Confederate colonel. The colonel sized John Clem
up and said, and I quote, I think the best
thing a mite of a chap like you can do
(05:39):
is drop that gun. But John Clem did not drop
his gun, quite the opposite. He lifted the musket, aimed
it right at the colonel and shot. Then he turned
around and sprinted away as fast as he possibly could
and behind him. The colonel yelled out some choice words,
calling John a damned little Yankee devil. But John probably
did hear that bit. He'd managed to make it back
(06:02):
across the Union lines and was safely with his fellow fighters.
Although the Confederate Army won the battle that day, John
Clem survived, and he would soon be honored for his
bravery against the colonel. He was promoted from soldier to sergeant,
which meant that he was now officially an officer in
the US Army. The only catch was John Clem was
twelve years old. It's crazy, I know. It was a
(06:24):
journey that started just a few years earlier too. John's
mother had died when he was nine years old, and
after she was gone, he ran away from home in
the hope of joining the army. He'd actually been turned
away from at least one other regiment on account of
the whole thing of being a child. Before the twenty
second Michigan regiment accepted him. When they did finally let
him in, it was only so that he could be
(06:46):
a sort of unofficial mascot slash drummer boy. He was
more like an adopted child who the other soldiers took
care of than an actual member of the US military.
But John kept insisting that he wasn't there to drum,
he was there to fight. Eventually, his commander agreed that
he could have a musket, although they had to saw
part of the end off to make it light enough
(07:06):
for the child to carry. Regardless, at the Battle of Chickamauga,
John clem clearly proved that he met business. Still, for
all his bravery, there was the pesky problem of being
a minor. About a year later, in July of eighteen
sixty four, the US War Department announced that it would
be instituting strict penalties for anyone who allowed boys under
(07:28):
the age of sixteen to enlist, So John's commanding officer
was forced to let him go. He told the boy,
in so many words, that he ought to trade the
musket for a pencil and go to school. John followed
his commander's orders. From his new place in a high
school classroom. He kept in touch with his friends from
Michigan's twenty second Regiment, and when he graduated in eighteen seventy,
(07:49):
he received nomination to West Point from none other than
President Ulysses S. Grant, But that didn't go quite as
planned either. John failed the West Point entrance exam. However,
due to his highly unique experience, President Grant appointed John
as an army lieutenant. Anyway, John Clem spent the next
forty four years in the military, eventually rising to the
(08:10):
rank of major general. When he retired in nineteen fifteen,
he was the last active duty member who had served
in the Civil War. He died in nineteen thirty seven
and is now buried at Arlington National Cemetery with a
headstone that says John Lincoln Clem, the Drummer Boy of Chickamauga,
a fitting nickname for such a strange soldier. I hope
(08:38):
you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities.
Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about
the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show
was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with hou
Stuff Works. I make another award winning show called Lore
which is a podcast, book series, and television show and
(09:00):
you can learn all about it over at Theworldoflore dot com.
And until next time, stay curious.
Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities News
Host
Aaron Mahnke
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