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The Galvanized Yankees

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This book is the definitive work about a little known part of our history -- the Indian Wars of 1865 on the Western Plains. Abraham Lincoln supported a move to draft Confederate prisoners of war languishing (and often starving) in Northern prisons, with the stipulation that they would not have to go South and fight fellow Confederates. The "Galvanized Yankees" (so named because it was thought that their loyalty to the North was only a thin "ganvanized" layer) -- 6,000 of them, took the oath of loyalty to the Union and headed West to guard stagecoaches and mail routes. Numerous fights with Plains Indians, bitter cold, at lonely outposts were but a few of the hazards the Galvanized Yankees faced. My gg grandfather survived all this and returned home in 1866. I recommend this book to anyone that is interested in learning more about these brave men who chose service to the Union rather than almost certain death in Northern prisons.

This is the first book to touch on the subject of southern prisoners taking an oath to the US Government to fight indians in the west. During the civil war, most military men returned east to seek their glory in the many battles. This left our western borders unprotected. Yet the tide of western migration was not stalled. Civil war prisons in the north became overcrowded. The idea of releasing POWs for service in the west was born; hence the name galvanized. This book is the story of those soldiers, who out of desperation for better living conditions agreed to a term of service to fight indians and protect the western frontier. My only complaint on this book was that it was to thin. I craved for more knowledge.

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. About six thousand eventually did so, serving between 1864 and 1866. Brown's narrative history mostly follows them by recalling the history of a unit or units grouped together, with a couple of chapters about individuals. Recommended for those most interested in military or American history, although the book does tend to get repetitious at times.

Historical writing about the captured soldiers of the South during the Civil War. Many people have never heard their story. Great book.

The author is the agriculture librarian at the University of Illinois, and has written other books on 19th century Western history. These "Galvanized Yankees" were the Confederate prisoners of war who joined the Union army to fight Indians in the West, guarded surveyors for the Union Pacific, accompanied expeditions, escorted supply trains, and protected stage coach routes. This book covers the events from September 1864 to November 1866. The 'Introduction' says this phrase was first used for captured Union soldiers who joined the Confederates (p.9). Later it was used for any Confederate prisoner who pledged allegiance to the Union. It started with prisoners of foreign or Northern origin (p.12). Later discouraged Southerners were recruited (p.13). 'Full rations' were an inducement (p.14). The Sand Creek massacre of peaceful Cheyennes started Indian wars all over the Plains (p.16). Guarding the trails and forts became the job of the Galvanized Yankees.

After four years of Civil War the country chose a series of peace councils rather than Indian wars (p.51). The Sioux uprising in Minnesota 1862 created a need for paroled soldiers (pp.61-62). This book tells about the Army forts along the upper Missouri river, and the use of Galvanized Yankees as troops there. The long winter and short supplies led to diseases like scurvy and diarrhea (p.87). State troops did not want to fight Indians now that the Civil War was over (p.119). General Dodge sought recruits from prison camps.

Timbered areas on the Plains were usually Indian burial sites, any logging there was considered a desecration (p.141). Stage horses were picked for strength and endurance; Indians always tried to steal them. Winter was severe on the plains (Chapter 10). Chapter 12 concludes by telling about Galvanized Confederates. They enlisted foreigners only, they did not trust Yankees who often escaped back to the Union lines or surrendered when attacked (p.213). So did many of the foreign born (p.214). These were recruited to again become Union soldiers.

Perhaps inevitably, this book deals in the generalities of the Indian Wars and the particulars of troop movements. The subject is specifically about the 'Galvanized Yankees', those captured Confederates who took the Union 'Pledge of Allegiance' and were placed in military detachments fighting--or potentially fighting--various Plains Indians.

The most interesting part of the tale is largely missing, which is the motives and experiences of the individual 'Galvanized Yankee'. Dee attributes this to the fact that most of these men were largely illiterate and left no record behind them, which may be quite true. It is also interesting to speculate, however, that many of these men were ashamed of their Union service and wanted to leave no record behind.

Now we are left with only speculation. Were most of these men driven to enlist in the Union Army out of desperation? The Federal concentration camps were truly fearful with higher death rates than Andersonville. On the other hand, most captured Confederates--the vast majority--refused to enlist despite the fact that they faced similar conditions.

This implies [to me, at least] that, as a group, these Galvanized were somehow different from their brethren. Were they less loyal to the Confederacy? Did they have preexisting Unionist feelings? Were they opportunists? Were they more cowardly? Were they only looking for improved opportunities for escape? Unfortunately, we'll probably never know. According to Dee, however, most of these men made excellent soldiers which may a function of the excellence of previous Confederate training. Many of these men underwent severe privations. Many died of infectious diseases and exposure. Some were killed--sometimes horrifically--by hostile tribesmen.