[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. About 7000 POWs took advantage of this offer, mostly sent to areas far removed from the major battles of the time. 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. The regiment is probably better known as the "Galvanized Yankees." The story of how the soldiers came to occupy Fort Rice, a Dakota Territory military post named after a Civil War casualty, is too long to recount in its entirety here. What would make you agree to fight as a mercenary on behalf of your enemy? Once on the battlefield, many deserted, surrendered and in some cases mutinied. It was not until 1864 that President Lincoln finally endorsed the enlisting of ex-Confederates. Their unusual story is one of the least known and most ironic tales of the American West. In this case, about POWs from the Confederacy who were enlisted in the service of the US Army in order to fight against the Indians in the west. It looks like you're offline. First published in hardcove Published 1963. 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. 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. As early as 1862, the commander of an Illinois regiment lobbied rebels held at Camp Douglas near Chicago to renounce their allegiance to the Confederacy and join his outfit. I am currently working on a book on galvanized Yankees that I hope to publish through the same press. O'Neill returned to Andersonville and recruited 150 more prisoners for the 10th Tennessee in January 1865, and approximately 165 more in March. Company B marched across Kansas to Fort Leavenworth and mustered out on November 3. The little known saga of the imprisoned Confederate soldiers who, during the American Civil War, volunteered to join the US Army and fight on the western frontier. He returned to the 1st U.S.V.I. The term "galvanized" has also been applied to former Union soldiers enlisting in the Confederate Army,[1] including the use of "galvanized Yankees" to designate them. L-R: Samuel Groah and Andrew Groah (Ancestry.com) On April 18, 1861, one day after Virginia voted to secede from the United States, the two Shenandoah Valley natives answered the call to arms. 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. The little-known true Civil War story of the Confederate soldiers who served in the Union Army by a #1 New York Times bestselling author. They made the journey from New York with surprisingly few desertions, surviving on salt pork, hardtack, coffee, and whatever water they could find. Dodge's recommendation was accepted, however, and the prisoners were permitted to enlist in the 5th and 6th U.S. The unit was folded into the U.S. Armys Eighth Corp and sent to Louisiana where it would eventually take part in the Red River campaign and the Union assault on Fort Morgan and the capture of Mobile, Alabama. Volunteers, 1,000 men strong, boarded the ship Continental in August of 1864, sailed to New York, then traveled by train to Chicago. Galvanized troops of the U.S. The story is quite episodic, so dont expect a flowing, narrative tale. Get help and learn more about the design. (58). In September and October, Companies D, E, F, and G were recruited from Confederate prisoners at Fort Delaware, most of whom had been captured at the Battle of Gettysburg, numbering approximately 450 in all. The Lincoln Administration wished to avoid any legal wrangles over the prisoner cartel that might be construed as recognition of the Confederacy as a legitimate government. The galvanized units were recruited from Union prison camps at Point Lookout, Maryland; Rock Island, Alton, and Camp Douglas, Illinois; Camp Chase, Ohio; and Camp Morton, Indiana. 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. Pennsylvania was the home state of Lincoln's opponent General. All of the former Confederates in the 1st Connecticut Cavalry were placed into Company G[n 19] and on April 26, 1864, sent to Fort Snelling, Minnesota, also serving at Forts Ridgely and Ripley. The book appeared to be merely repeating material found in research with no cohesive glue or connections to Galvanized Yankees. Study the history of Federal POW camps during the War Between the States, and you'll have your answer. My book will present a more comprehensive view of the topic. Many were arrested and held in confinement before returning to the ranks. They were seldom issued new clothing and often starved due to meager food allowances. The recommendation for clemency was resisted by the Judge Advocate General's Office in Washington, D.C., which advocated that the former Union soldiers be tried for desertion, citing testimony from Union officers at Egypt Station that they resisted at the battle until their ammunition was exhausted. An interesting summary of a lesser-known aspect of the Civil War. It would have been a bit more reader friendly if it would have been possible to follow a few key individuals and feature them more than the units themselves. After suffering a number of casualties, the 2nd New Jersey Cavalry responded with a charge in which it took severe casualties, including 22 dead, and lost 80 horses but captured more than 500 prisoners, among whom were Burke and 254 former Union soldiers from Burke's Battalion of the 10th Tennessee. Companies I and K were sent to Fort Laramie, and on May 15, 1865, were parceled out in small detachments along 300 miles of the Pacific Telegraph Company line from Laramie to South Pass, Territory of Idaho (now Wyoming). They garrisoned frontier forts which were low on manpower at a time of general unrest among American Indians and were stationed along the Missouri River and Oregon and Santa Fe Trails. Four provisional army units including: Brooks Battalion of Foreigners, the Confederate 1st Foreign Legion (aka Tuckers Confederate Regiment), and the 2nd Foreign Legion (aka 8th Confederate Battalion). Provisions and treaty goods were often shoddy or were stolen by traders. Protective netting . [13] In October 1865, the battalion returned to St. Louis to muster out November 27. The Union cavalry force had already captured a substantial number of Brig. Thank you for your interest, but I am not inclined to go public with the information. [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. Also briefly mentions the occasional use of Union prisoners in Confederate forces. Three companies of the 6th U.S.V.I. [n 24] In July and August 1864, Capt. Giving these men an opportunity to exchange the horrors of the wars POW camps for the danger of fighting native Americans attracted many prisoners. The Fault Lines of Empire Elizabeth Mancke 2005 Elizabeth Mancke presents a comparative Paperback First Edition Thus (1963); unstated. Love a scan or a digital pic to post. 1900, living in the National Soldiers Home, Washington County, TN. From the bestselling author of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, The Galvanized Yankees is an accurate, interesting, and sometimes thrilling account of an unusual group of men [and] a fresh and informative study of the Old West in transition from frontier to stable society (The New York Times Book Review). Volunteers, serving in Minnesota. National Park Service publication on Andersonville National Historic Site. In August 1864, Grant ordered it to the Department of the Northwest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Approximately 5,600 former Confederate soldiers enlisted in the "United States Volunteers", organized into six regiments of infantry between January 1864 and November 1866. Dee Brown's history of Confederate POWs who took the oath of allegiance and joined Federal regiments policing the prairie in order to get out of prison. Binding Paperback Quantity-available 1 Seller Black Cat Hill Books Oregon City, Oregon, USA Seller rating : Description: New York, NY Curtis Books, 1963. Company H, 5th U.S.V.I. In most cases, the volunteers had accepted Southern recruitment offers mostly to escape the squalid living conditions in rebel-run POW camps. For a brief picture of Galvanized Yankees sent to Ft. Rice in the Dakota Territories from Point Lookout Camp for Confederate Prisoners in Maryland read, Cottages: A Chesapeake Bay Novel by Paula Farrar. 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. Company I was involved in numerous skirmishes, including combat at the Battle of the Platte Bridge Station, and suffered higher casualties than any other company of the 3rd U.S.V.I. When these gifts were presented, the Colonel was hardly able to speak. The soldiers published a weekly newspaper entitled The Frontier Scout, which served to partially dispel the remoteness of their post. Some 228 prisoners of mostly Irish extraction were enlisted by Col. James A. Mulligan before the War Department banned further recruitment March 15. Dee Browns history of Confederate POWs who volunteered to join the Union Army and head West to protect the Santa Fe trail and the mail routes to California , man the western forts such as Fort Bridger and Fort Laramie, fight the Sioux and Cheyenne and the Mormons and protect against a nascent invasion from Mexico by the Emperor Napoleon . The Galvanized Yankees were Federal prisoners who were allowed to enlist in the Federal army to be assigned to fight the Indians in the West rather than having to fight their former compatriots in the East. And according to all accounts, the one-time rebels had acquitted themselves well. Francis H. Reichard commanded Battery M. Sentenced by court martial to hard labor, three of the four were summarily executed in 1865 when they tried a second attempt. The six regiments of Galvanized Yankees wrote a proud record as they fought Indians, guarded surveying parties for the Union Pacific Railroad, escorted supply trains along the Oregon and Santa Fe trails, rebuilt hundreds of miles of telegraph lines destroyed by Indians, accompanied expeditions, protected stage coach routes, and manned lonely . The recruits were required to take an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy, and were not issued arms or ammunition until the night before their first engagement. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. [n 10] Their muster out in July 1865 was canceled and in October, they were ordered to build and garrison Fort Fletcher, Kansas, and man two outposts at Monument Station and Ponds Creek Station, also in Kansas, to protect the new Butterfield Overland Despatch stagecoach route. 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. At least four Confederate units were recruited, including three units of Regulars in the Provisional Army of the Confederate States. After plying their way up the winding Missouri and marching the last 250 miles, the First U.S. En route, four of Company E's recruits plotted to involve all Confederates in the company in a mutiny when it reached Julesburg, but were disarmed and arrested before the attempt could be made. From New Mexico to Montana, they endured Indian attacks, cold winters, disease, and grueling marches. Lot of 4 - Vintage The Galvanized Yankees, Third Alabama, Orphan Brigade,Cavalr. Brown mentioned them several times in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee and this book, written in 1963, was the first book length examination of the Galvanized Yankees. Commanded by Lt. Col. John Hampden Brooks (formerly captain, 7th South Carolina Infantry). 30 December 1871, USS Pensacola. 8, 142143). The experiment of enlisting prisoners became a concern for the U.S. War Department, and policies surrounding this practice continually changed. The Story Behind One of the Most Famous Wartime Posters in History. This book is about Confederate POWs during the ACW, LOL, who volunteer for frontier duty chasing Indians, Mormons, and the mail in exchange for not dying in a Union prison camp. Amazingly, the 3rd USVI wasnt the only Yankee regiment to be made up of Confederate POWs. Four companies continued to Milwaukee, while six companies (B, C, D, E, H, and K) were sent to St. Louis, Missouri, arriving there August 22. Many "Galvanized Yankees" [meaning those Confederate prisoners of war who joined the Union army while in Union prison camps] served in units other than the six United States Volunteer regiments recruited in 1864. [24] Between May 14 and May 31, they marched to Fort Kearny, Nebraska, where it dispersed to replace the various companies of the 3rd U.S.V.I. In the early days of the war, prison camps were merely holding areas where men waited to be exchanged for equal numbers of prisoners held by the other side. The 1st U.S.V.I. The regiment mustered out at Fort Leavenworth November 7, 1865. He became captain of the company in Minnesota on December 3, 1864. They are known in the army as "white-washed rebs," or as they call themselves, "galvanized Yankees. Excerpted from The Museum Gazette, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, National Park Service. Prison camps were horrible, filthy places that lacked all the necessities of life. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. [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. (Brown 1963 pp. Their requests were denied. Approximately 5,600 former Confederate soldiers enlisted in the "United States Volunteers", organised into six regiments of infantry between January 1864 and November 1866. [23][n 16], The 6th U.S.V.I. 35 of the 275 men ordered to Utah deserted before their arrival October 9. Condition: Very Good. Just found this site looking for similar info on US Navy recruits from rock island. They served in Arkansas, New Mexico, Nebraska, Montana, Idaho, Kansas, Oregon, Utah & Colorado between 1864 & 1866. [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. The starving Sioux had had enough and attempted to regain their ancestral lands. Dee Brown, the author of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee , tells what happened to a lost . The Galvanized Yankees. From the bestselling author of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, The Galvanized Yankees is "an accurate, interesting, and sometimes thrilling account of an unusual group of men [and] a fresh and. later he was assigned to the 1st arkansas light artillery. Once in federal custody, a number of these former Union soldiers sought to rejoin their old regiments. 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. At the end of hostilities it was assigned to the Department of Mississippi and garrisoned Natchez, Mississippi, through the summer of 1865. Together, they formed 1st United States Volunteer Infantry. Vol. was the most traveled of the "galvanized Yankee" units in its 20 months of service on the plains, operating in five districts and at every post in Colorado, Nebraska, and Kansas; and seeing considerable skirmishing. 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. In September 1863, authorized to expand to a regiment, the 1st Connecticut Cavalry while on Provost Guard at Camp Chesebrough in Baltimore, recruited 82 replacements from among Confederate prisoners kept at Fort Delaware, placing most in Company G (organized October 5, 1863) and spreading the rest throughout the regiment. The trip was extremely arduous, as the regiment lacked tents to protect themselves from pelting rain and hail and initially had no wagons to carry what meager supplies they had been issued. Thornton, formerly a captain with the. The battery moved to Fortress Monroe to train, where some members were induced to join the newly created 188th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. Well written and edited, with a good index. In the early days of the war, prison camps were merely holding areas where men waited to be exchanged for equal numbers of prisoners held by the other side. By 1866, the last of the USVI regiments were disbanded and its soldiers discharged. The show tells the true story of a Jewish man . The following units were recruited from the prison pen at Fort Delaware: Dee Brown cites documentation from March and April 1865 indicating that the term was first used to characterize captured Federals who turned Confederate. 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