Events in the Eastern Theater of the Civil War continually overshadowed events in the American West. The Premier Online Military History Magazine. Detailed look at men imprisoned at Camp Morton, Rock Island and other prison camps, and how they fared when shipped out west. Most of these units were ordered to perform rear echelon duties or to serve on the distant western frontier. The book primarily draws from primary sources and has many appropriate citations. It's colorful and fascinating. From 1864 to 1866 six regiments of Galvanized Yankees fought Indians, escorted supply trains along the Oregon and Sante Fe trails, accompanied expeditions, guarded surveying parties for the Union Pacific Railroad, and manned lonely outposts on the frontier. Commanded by Lt. Col. Garrett Andrews, Jr., formerly a major on the staff of Maj. Gen. Initially, the men of the 1st USVI were assigned to provost or military police duties in Virginia and North Carolina before being transferred to the Dakota Territory. Copyright 2023 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. [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. The term galvanized rebels or Yankees was coined by Samuel Bowles, a newspaper reporter, referring to galvanized metal, which turns colors when coated with zinc. In August 1864, Grant ordered it to the Department of the Northwest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Despite the varied origins of the 6,000 men who were Galvanized during the war, each had the chance to prove his loyalty to the United States. (O.R. From there it moved to Fort Riley between May 18 and May 28 to relieve units of the 2nd U.S.V.I. Volunteers, serving in Minnesota. I have a Civil War pension filing for a suspected Carolina ancestor stating his service as E 49 U.S. Volunteer Infantry. Can anyone clarify where he would have been recruited from? 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). By the end of the day, more than 39 of the bluecoats were casualties; 60 native warriors lay dead. The lack of a western frontier with Indian problems didn't give the Confederacy the place to employ such troops as the Union did in Utah and elsewhere in the west. They are known in the army as "white-washed rebs," or as they call themselves, "galvanized Yankees. "[2], Concise histories of all units of U.S. Volunteer Infantry are at Frederick H. Dyer's Compendium, p.1717, The 1st U.S.V.I. At the end of hostilities it was assigned to the Department of Mississippi and garrisoned Natchez, Mississippi, through the summer of 1865. 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. On December 28, 1864, at Egypt Station, Mississippi, a Confederate regiment composed of 250 galvanized soldiers threw down their arms and surrendered as Union troops charged them. Giving these men an opportunity to exchange the horrors of the wars POW camps for the danger of fighting native Americans attracted many prisoners. Hadnt heard about it until this weekend. later he was assigned to the 1st arkansas light artillery. Protective netting . All told, the Confederacy recruited more than 1,600 mostly foreign-born Yankee POWs in the final six months of the war. In the process the surface color of the metal is altered, but underneath the coating the steel is unchanged. He discusses the US Navys Galvanized Yankees. Disease seriously depleted the ranks of the regiment, and in December 1864, the 3rd Maryland Cavalry consolidated into a six-company battalion. Condition: Very Good. Many saw enlistment in the enemy forces as an escape and took advantage of the personnel shortage in either army by joining it. In most cases, the volunteers had accepted Southern recruitment offers mostly to escape the squalid living conditions in rebel-run POW camps. He returned to the 1st U.S.V.I. Worn-out clothing offered little protection from the elements, and the only shelter for the men was what they could improvise for themselves. Galvanized Yankees were Confederate prisoners of war who joined the Union Army and went west to fight Indians. Approximately 5,600 former Confederate soldiers enlisted in the "United States Volunteers", organized into six regiments between January 1864 and November 1866. [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. 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. Their requests were denied. [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. Sent to Rock Island, IL. The book appeared to be merely repeating material found in research with no cohesive glue or connections to Galvanized Yankees. Like the metal, these galvanized soldiers in many cases were still "Good old Rebels," or "Billy Yanks," underneath their adopted uniforms.[1]. Focuses on individual units of Confederate prisoners sworn into the Union army, mainly for Indian fighting in the West. he received a regular commission as a 1st lieutenant in the 18th Infantry. [29] The 3rd Maryland Cavalry was the only unit of "galvanized Yankees" in Federal service to actively campaign against Confederate forces. Thoroughly enjoyed the chapter on Henry Stanley. At first, these recruitment offers came entirely from the U.S. Navy. Volunteers and commanded by Northern officers, to the frontier to protect the trails, telegraph lines, and U.S. Mail routes. Related to me five times, the closest being a 2nd cousin 3 x removed. He also explains how and why this happened. 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. By the time many of the Galvanized regiments reached their western posts, the Civil War had ended. Weird times and weirder people. 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. I published a book on galvanized Confederates in December, 2020, through the University of Tennessee Press that is titled Changing Sides Union Prisoners of War Who Joined the Confederate Army. Thanks for adding that. However, I do not wish to push my luck. Despite the mixed results of the scheme, the Confederates also attempted to draw volunteers from its own prisoner of war camps. The battery moved to Fortress Monroe to train, where some members were induced to join the newly created 188th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. The Galvanized Yankees is written by Dee Brown and published by Open Road Media. It was ordered to the Department of the Missouri, arriving at Fort Kearny, Nebraska, April 9, 1865,[n 13] where it was assigned to duty in the Districts of Nebraska and Colorado. Burke's Battalion and the 17th Arkansas were sent with a battery of artillery aboard the first train to block the tracks at Egypt Station, a mile west of Aberdeen, Mississippi. The Digital and eTextbook ISBNs for The Galvanized Yankees are 9781453274170, 1453274170 and the print ISBNs are 9780803260757, 080326075X. Permanently detached and given the designation 1st Independent Battalion Ohio Cavalry, it arrived at Fort Laramie on May 30, 1862. It was ordered to the Department of the Missouri and sent by rail to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where it was assigned to duty in the District of Upper Arkansas along the Santa Fe Trail from the Little Arkansas River to Fort Dodge, Kansas, and along the Cimarron Crossing to Fort Lyon, Colorado. 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. 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. guarding the telegraph line and the Oregon Trail. The Indians could shoot their arrows at a much faster rate. An interesting summary of a lesser-known aspect of the Civil War. The Galvanized Yankees is an accurate, interesting, and sometimes thrilling account of an unusual group of men who rendered a valuable service to the nation in a time of great need. Pennsylvania was the home state of Lincoln's opponent General. The Galvanized Yankees por: Brown, Dee Publicado: (1985) The Galvanized Yankees. Though the situation remained tense, life at Fort Rice improved in small ways. Volunteers for service in the West. IT WASJULY26, 1865 when a force of 3,000 Sioux and Cheyenne descended onto the U.S. Army outpost at Platte Bridge in Wyoming. Sidney Lewis Triplett Co. K, 53 NC Regiment. The Union cavalry force had already captured a substantial number of Brig. Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2022-11-21 14:01:40 Autocrop_version ..14_books-20220331-.2 Bookplateleaf 0003 Great research and interesting story, but sometimes I felt the story got bogged down in just following army units all over the place. 1900, living in the National Soldiers Home, Washington County, TN. It was apparently over-recruited in numbers. por: Brown, Dee Alexander Publicado: (1963) The Galvanized Yankees. In 1862, Colonel James Mulligan discovered that many Confederate prisoners did not wish to be exchanged and were willing to join the Union army; he illegally enlisted former Confederates to be used on the front lines. 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. It certainly is a topic which bears further analysis as time goes on. We have dispatched from our book depository; items of good condition to over ten million satisfied customers worldwide. (Brown 1963, pp. Another 800 rebel prisoners were absorbed into various state regiments from Northern prison camps. Galvanized troops of the U.S. escorted a wagon train to Fort Union; and a detachment of 10 men of Company H, 1st U.S.V.I. It was not until 1864 that President Lincoln finally endorsed the enlisting of ex-Confederates. Despite pressure to try the prisoners for desertion or even treason, eventually those taken in rebel uniform were eventually allowed to enlist in the USVI regiments as galvanized Yankees. XLVIII, p. 264) He had been commissioned from the ranks while in Company A, 25th Massachusetts Volunteers. From there it moved to Fort Riley between May 18 and May 28 to relieve units Confederate. Or as they call themselves, `` Galvanized Yankees 1864 that President Lincoln finally the! E 49 U.S. Volunteer Infantry life at Fort Rice improved in small.... 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