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Confederate Blue in the American West: The Galvanized Yankees, Part VI

© Perry Cuskey

From March 1864 to November 1866, some 6,000 former Confederate soldier/prisoners enlisted to serve for the government they had originally enlisted to serve against.

By and large, the men known as Galvanized Yankees had acquired during that time a reputation as troops that were as dependable as any on the frontier.

A number of them had lost their lives in the process. Others had endured debilitating illnesses, including smallpox. Nearly all of them had endured hardships running the physical and emotional gamut, from freezing cold and isolating loneliness to rain-soaked sleeping quarters and surprise Indian attacks.

Perhaps more than a few of them eventually wondered if prison might not have been a better alternative after all.

On the Run

To be sure, some of them eventually decided that the best alternative was desertion.

This was no different than in other volunteer units, North or South, including on the frontier. Every outfit contained men who for one reason or another decided they weren't going to show up for roll call the next morning, or any of the mornings after that.

The Galvanized Yankees were no different; yet taken as a whole their rate of desertion stands up well against other Federal regiments during the 1860's - especially considering that they began their military service as Confederates.

According to historian Dee Brown, while the rate of desertion for the U.S. Volunteers varied quite a bit from one regiment to another, for the six regiments combined the desertion rate was approximately 14% - only slightly higher than the 13% average for Union regiments during the war. And probably quite a bit lower than many initially skeptical frontier commanders had expected. (Note - the 13% figure is from Ella Lonn's Desertion in the Civil War, originally published in 1928.)

All things considered, the wonder may not be that a number of men deserted, but that more of them chose not to.

Galvanized?

But why "Galvanized" Yankees? Where did the term originate, and what did the men themselves think of it?

The word 'galvanized' suggests being roused or spurred into action. Since serving in the Union army represented a way out of prison camp for the former Confederate soldiers, one could say they were 'roused or spurred' into choosing what some may have considered the lesser of two evils.

To some extent this may account for the source of 'Galvanized Yankees;' although historian Dee Brown indicates that, ironically, the term was apparently first used as a way to describe former Union soldiers who wound up serving the Confederacy.

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