Confederate Boys and Peter Monkeys

Throughout much of the 19th and early 20th century, boys were preferred for many mining jobs because they were more willing to obey orders from older men, they could be paid less for the same work that men do; and often they came from homes where they were the sole breadwinner, (such as a widow’s home), and thus were desperate to get and keep a job to support their family. These boys were sometimes called “Peter Monkeys,” possibly in imitation of the term “Powder Monkeys,” used for the boys who carried bags of powder from the magazine to the firing deck on navy war vessels.”