American Civil War Figure. He received fame as the "Little Bugler," serving in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was the playmate of United States President' Abraham Lincoln's son, Tad Lincoln. Born the son of a German musician, he had an advantage that enabled him to enlist as a drummer boy in New York's 40th "Mozart Regiment" at age 12 in 1861. The "Mozart Regiment" was mainly musicians and he played a variety of musical instruments. Born in western Germany, in what was then known as the Provence of Westphalia in Prussia, he had immigrated to the United States with his parents, Frederick and Caroline, while still an infant. The family fled the revolutionary turmoil in Europe. The Schurmanns settled in New York City, where "Gus" had worked as a shoeshine boy prior to enlisting. Brave and reliable as well as musically gifted, he soon became a bugler, riding into battle alongside Generals Philip Kearny, David Birney, George Stoneman and Daniel Sickles. After the Battle of Fredericksburg in December of 1862, he received a metal for gallantry displayed in combat. Following the Battle of Chancellorsville in May of 1863, he again displayed conspicuous courage, for which he was awarded a medal. When Sickles' leg was shattered by a cannonball on July 2, 1863 at the Battle of Gettysburg, he used his handkerchief to make a tourniquet. During President Lincoln's troop inspection of the Army of the Potomac in April of 1863, he met Tad Lincoln and was consequently invited to the White House. While on a two-week furlough from military service, he visited the White House. During this visit, he and Tad became friends, and their amusements ironically included a backstage chat with John Wilkes Booth, whose acting had "thrilled" 12-year-old Tad. Impressed with his military service, President Lincoln sent him home to study for West Point, thus his army days ended as a 15-year-old sergeant and veteran of 10 battles. With Lincoln's assassination by actor Booth, his hopes entering West Point ended as he had limited formal schooling and had the necessity of supporting his widowed mother. Active in veterans' organizations, he worked as a bookbinder and later clerked in the New York City Customs House. In 1870 he married Anastasia Quinlan. In July of 1905 he died at the age of 56, his wife having predeceased him two months earlier. Their only child, a daughter Lillian, and Lillian's husband are also buried in the Schurmann plot. In 1999 Civil War author and editor, William Styple published his book "The Little Bugler," which successfully sold 17,000 copies and told his war stories to another generation.