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

Recruited from the notorious prison camp at Point Lookout in southern Maryland, the 1st U.S. Volunteers had entered the service in March of 1864. Initially they were assigned to duty at Norfolk, Virginia; but the Union's General-in-Chief was not keen on former Confederate soldiers, dressed in the uniform of the United States, being in such close proximity to the southern lines.

When it seemed apparent to Ulysses S. Grant that the men would probably see action against Confederate troops, he ordered them sent to the western frontier. "It is not right," he wrote, "to expose them where, to be taken prisoners, they must surely suffer as [Confederate] deserters." It was a reasonable assessment, and probably accurate.

On August 15th, 1864, the men began their long journey north and west, bound for Fort Rice on the Missouri River in Dakota Territory.

Although the unit as a whole had retained its cohesion and generally showed good discipline, several desertions occurred along the trip. One man had also been court-martialed and executed for reportedly threatening to desert.

The unfortunate lad was 22 year-old William C. Dowdy of Tennessee, accused of threatening to desert, cursing a superior officer, and being absent from his company without leave.

He was found guilty on all counts, with the court declaring that the luckless youth was to be "shot to death by musketry in the presence of his Regiment at such time as the Commanding Officer may direct."

The commanding officer, Colonel Charles Dimon, directed that such time would be 3:00 the following afternoon, September 9th. At the appointed hour, Private William C. Dowdy of Tennessee met his end in Iowa, along the muddy banks of the Missouri. He was buried near the river, and the regiment continued on its way.

Barren and Desolate

Private Dowdy's demise may have proven to be a bad omen. Several of Colonel Dimon's officers had been stunned by the swift nature of the execution - which was actually in violation of a federal law requiring all military death sentences to be reviewed by the president before being carried out - and were not shy about expressing their opinions on the matter.

The open grumbling prompted the overbearing Dimon to actually issue an order forbidding his officers from either criticizing or praising any fellow officer. A violation would result in immediate dismissal from the service. (At least he did not threaten to have them shot.)

Near the end of September, still on the dangerously low Missouri, the regiment encountered yet more trouble when their boat ran aground on a sandbar. With their destination of Fort Rice over 270 miles upriver and their boat stuck fast, the men took the only remaining option - they began to walk.

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