Afterward, Galvanized soldiers were shunned in the South and neglected by the Grand Army of the Republic. Disease seriously depleted the ranks of the regiment, and in December 1864, the 3rd Maryland Cavalry consolidated into a six-company battalion. 1980 2000 1961 1963". Excerpted from The Museum Gazette, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, National Park Service. [38], Grierson's prisoners were shipped by steamer to the Union prison camp at Alton, Illinois, where the claims of the "galvanized Yankees" that they desired restoration to their original units were investigated. Some stories had potential but just didn't seem to go anywhere. It is also a fresh and informative study of the Old West in transition from frontier to stable society." The New York Times Book Review About the Author These men were sent to the Union prison in Alton, Illinois, as deserters. Well written and edited, with a good index. Despite the mixed results of the scheme, the Confederates also attempted to draw volunteers from its own prisoner of war camps. [1] By 1864, the Union Army fortifying the remote outposts across the western frontier was atrophying, due to the high toll of U. S. soldiers engaged in the Civil War. In the case of the 4th USVI, more than a tenth of its recruits slipped away from the regiment before it even arrived at its first frontier outpost. Sent by steamship to New Orleans and Madisonville, Louisiana, the 3rd Maryland Cavalry took part in the Red River Campaign, in the Atchafalaya Expedition in the first week of June 1864,[n 21] and in August was dismounted to participate in the siege of Fort Morgan. Save up to 80% versus print by going digital with VitalSource. [7] On September 1, Lincoln approved 1,750 more Confederate recruits in order to bolster his election chances in Pennsylvania, enough to form two more regiments, to be sent to the frontier to fight American Indians. GALVANIZED YANKEES ON THE UPPER MISSOURI: THE FACE OF LOYALTY. Two companies were stationed at Fort Rice, then at Fort Sully; one at Fort Berthold; and three at Fort Randall until June 1866, when the six companies were recalled to Leavenworth, mustering out as they arrived between June 18 and July 2. Once in federal custody, a number of these former Union soldiers sought to rejoin their old regiments. [2] At least 1,600 former Union prisoners of war enlisted in Confederate service in late 1864 and early 1865, most of them recent German or Irish immigrants who had been drafted into Union regiments. [20] In August three companies were sent to Fort Halleck, Idaho Territory (now Wyoming); two companies to Camp Wardwell, Colorado; two companies to Fort Lyon, and Company B to Denver for quartermaster duty. On the first day of the Sioux uprising, 1,500 settlers were killed, and the town of New Ulm was saved only by the efforts of ill-equipped local volunteers. [5][n 2] Gen. Gilman Marston, commandant of the huge prisoner of war camp at Point Lookout, Maryland, recommended that Confederate prisoners be enlisted in the U.S. Navy, which Secretary of War Edwin Stanton approved December 21. Colonel Dimon was inexperienced in dealing with Native Americans. Efforts were made at first to recruit Irish immigrants in compliance with Seddon's original instructions, but when few complied, native-born Union soldiers were enlisted. The Galvanized Yankees is an interesting book about US Civil War Confederate soldiers who were offered a chance to take an oath of loyalty to the Union if they would enlist in the army and serve on the western frontier. All that stood between the raiders and the vital 1,000-foot long river crossing that connected the territories of Oregon and Montana was a detachment of 120 lightly armed troops. It is an interesting story, with a wide variety of quality and problems that faced them. During the Civil War, in both Northern and Southern prison camps, soldiers sometimes decided to "galvanize," or change sides, to save themselves from the horrors of prison life. [n 15] was enlisted at the Alton and Camp Douglas prisoner camps in Illinois in March and April 1865 as a three-year regiment, then ordered to Fort Leavenworth on April 28, 1865, at the urging of Maj. Gen. Grenville Dodge, commanding general of the Department of the Missouri. arrived at Fort Kearny on the date that, Lt. Col. Charles C.G. By the time many of the Galvanized regiments reached their western posts, the Civil War had ended. These were the Galvanized Yankees, former soldiers of the Confederate States of America, who had worn gray or butternut before they accepted the blue uniform of the United States Army in exchange for freedom from prison pens where many of them had endured much of the war. Galvanized Yankees were Confederate prisoners of war who joined the Union Army and went west to fight Indians. [return][return]The vast majority of former Confederates made up the 1st -6th U.S. Volunteer Regiments and Brown discusses the actions and activities of each in turn. [12][n 8] Four companies were present at Fort Rice, along with two companies of the 4th U.S.V.I., when a large force of Lakota and Cheyenne[n 9] led by Sitting Bull attacked for three hours on July 28, 1865, making away with the entire horse herd and killing two soldiers. Approximately 5,600 former Confederate soldiers enlisted in the "United States Volunteers", organized into six regiments of infantry between January 1864 and November 1866. Binding Paperback Quantity-available 1 Seller Black Cat Hill Books Oregon City, Oregon, USA Seller rating : Description: New York, NY Curtis Books, 1963. General Grant was opposed to their continued use in the East, saying that it is not right to expose them where, to be taken prisoners, they might surely suffer as deserters. The 1st U.S. Company D became part of Company E, and Company G part of Company F, participating in the campaign to capture Mobile, Alabama in March and April 1865. The Digital and eTextbook ISBNs for The Galvanized Yankees are 9781453274170, 1453274170 and the print ISBNs are 9780803260757, 080326075X. Dorris Alexander Dee Brown (19082002) was a celebrated author of both fiction and nonfiction, whose classic study. Though some took the opportunity to escape back to the Confederacy, most served bravely valiantly under the extreme conditions of the wild west. The book is available on Amazon.com. Dimon was eager to test his men in battle, and the unit was sent to Elizabeth City, North Carolina, where they fired a few shots, seized horses and bales of cotton. Confederate POWs who swore allegiance to the United States during the American Civil War, Federal regiments composed of "galvanized Yankees", Confederate forces composed of "galvanized Yankees", State volunteer regiments in Confederate service. I love Dee Brown so hard. Yet this was no ordinary U.S. Army outfit. Title: The Galvanized Yankees. The Galvanized Yankees. Few volunteered. Prison camps were horrible, filthy places that lacked all the necessities of life. [n 29] O'Neill, recovering from wounds received at the Battle of Resaca, appears to have delegated part of the task to a newly appointed lieutenant colonel, Michael Burke. Dee Brown cites documentation from March and April 1865 indicating that the term was first used to characterize captured Federals who turned Confederate. The Galvanized Yankees is an interesting book about US Civil War Confederate soldiers who were offered a chance to take an oath of loyalty to the Union if they would enlist in the army and serve. Four additional companies were recruited between June 26 and July 31, 1863, including approximately 40 Confederate prisoners from Camp Chase who became members of Company E. Originally called to service to repel John Hunt Morgan's raid through Ohio, the companies were also sent west to combine with the 1st Independent Battalion into the new 11th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry. Three companies of the 6th U.S.V.I. XLVIII, p. 264) He had been commissioned from the ranks while in Company A, 25th Massachusetts Volunteers. In 1863, however, the prisoner exchange system had broken down, causing prison camps to become permanent areas of incarceration, where growing numbers of men had no hope of release until the end of the war. A young officer who had caught Butler's eye during his Louisiana sojourn, Col. Charles A. R. Dimon was put in command of 2nd Louisiana Volunteers. Dodge's recommendation was accepted, however, and the prisoners were permitted to enlist in the 5th and 6th U.S. Byways & Historic Trails Great Drives in America, Soldiers and Officers in American History, Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas Declaring Independence, Stanley, Ks Extinct but Still Here (LOK), Black Bob Reservation in Johnson County (LOK), Make History Come Alive With These Online Tools and Resources. He returned to the 1st U.S.V.I. Unlike the galvanized Yankees who served almost entirely in the far-flung corners of the continent, the Confederates threw their POW recruits right into action against their former comrades. The story is quite episodic, so dont expect a flowing, narrative tale. Very cool. I had never heard of the Galvanized Yankees before, so most of it was interesting reading. Sent to Rock Island, IL. Hundreds accepted the offer. From there it moved to Fort Riley between May 18 and May 28 to relieve units of the 2nd U.S.V.I. The Galvanized Yankees is written by Dee Brown and published by Open Road Media. If you like history of the West and Indian Wars along with Civil War history, you might like this. XLI, p. 997) Straut had enlisted as a sergeant in Company D in October 1861, became first sergeant of Company I in November 1863, reenlisted in December, became 2nd lieutenant of Company I in January 1864, then 1st Lt of Company G in March. Galvanized Yankees were Confederate prisoners of war who joined the Union Army and went west to fight Indians. More than 450 Southerners captured at Gettysburg agreed to join the 3rd Maryland Cavalry regiment in early 1864. in the middle of guides you could enjoy now is A People Highly Favoured Of God The Nova Scotia Yankees And The American Revolution below. Also mentioned is the brief effort that the Confederates made to recruit from Union Soldiers held in POW camps in the South. It was apparently over-recruited in numbers. Permanently detached and given the designation 1st Independent Battalion Ohio Cavalry, it arrived at Fort Laramie on May 30, 1862. In return for fighting for their former captives in campaigns against the Indians and Mormons, the "Galvanized Yankees" did not have to fight against the Confederacy. Four of those companies saw combat in the Western Theater against the Confederate Army, two served on the western frontier, and one became an independent company of U.S. Publisher: Bison Books. [30][31][n 22], Battery M, 3rd Regiment Heavy Artillery, Pennsylvania Volunteers[n 23] was raised in Philadelphia, then recruited prisoners at Fort Delaware in July and August 1863 to fill out its ranks. He then goes on to discuss other former Confederates who served in units outside of the USV regiments, the most notable being Henry Morgan Stanley, who served in the Confederate Army, the Union Army, and the Union Navy. By 1866, the last of the USVI regiments were disbanded and its soldiers discharged. During the American Civil War, many captured Confederate soldiers were offered a choice of rotting in a Union prisoner of war camp or entering the Union army to fight Indians on the Western frontier. The Galvanized Yankees by Dee Alexander Brown, 1986, University of Nebraska Press edition, in English. It certainly is a topic which bears further analysis as time goes on. Thanks. National Park Service publication on Andersonville National Historic Site. The state of Tennessee replaced losses in at least one of its regiments from the ranks of Yankee prisoners too. [32], Company C of the 4th Regiment Infantry, Delaware Volunteers is claimed to have been recruited in 1862 or 1863 from prisoners at Fort Delaware, but claims have not been substantiated through checks of muster rolls. Major General Dodge recommended on March 5, 1865, that all the former Union soldiers as well as a number of Confederate troops be enlisted in the U.S. por: Brown, Dee Alexander Publicado: (1963) The Galvanized Yankees. Approximately 5,600 former Confederate soldiers enlisted in the "United States Volunteers", organised into six regiments of infantry between January 1864 and November 1866. The Galvanized Yankees were ordered westward. in aug 1865 he deserted and went back to arkansas. The Unio. [4][n 1] The ban continued until 1863, except for a few enlistments of foreign-born Confederates into largely ethnic regiments. [16], The 3rd U.S.V.I. The Galvanized soldiers turned from fighting a war to divide the United States and joined a cause that endeavored to expand and strengthen the nation. Like the metal, these galvanized soldiers in many cases were still "Good old Rebels," or "Billy Yanks," underneath their adopted uniforms.[1]. he received a regular commission as a 1st lieutenant in the 18th Infantry. "This was no ordinary U.S. Army outfit. Just found this site looking for similar info on US Navy recruits from rock island. Conditions were hard over the winter, and fully 11% of the command died of illness, primarily scurvy. Volunteers were recruited in the spring of 1865 to replace the 2nd and 3rd U.S.V.I., which had been enlisted as one-year regiments. Volunteers, 1,000 men strong, boarded the ship Continental in August of 1864, sailed to New York, then traveled by train to Chicago. Paperback. On July 30, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln ordered suspension of exchanges of Confederate prisoners until the Confederacy agreed to treat black prisoners the same as white prisoners. An interesting book by a very readable author relating the adventures of a body of men sometimes regarded as turncoats by their comrades. **Simply Brit** Shipped with Premium postal service within 24 hours from the UK with impressive delivery time. in guarding the Santa Fe Trail. Introduction Galvanized Yankees was a term from the American Civil War denoting former Confederate prisoners of war who swore allegiance to the United States and joined the Union Army. Much appreciated. When the native warriors struck the remote outpost, the men of 3rd, along with troopers from the 11th Ohio Cavalry (another unit made up of Confederate POWs), sallied forth to engage the attackers.