Gus W. Dorsey Explained

Birth Date:1839 4, mf=y
Birth Place:Columbia, Maryland
Death Place:Brookeville, Maryland
Serviceyears:1861-1865
Rank:Lieutenant Colonel
Unit:Company K, 1st Virginia Cavalry
1st Maryland Cavalry
Battles:American Civil War

Gustavus Warfield Dorsey (April 20, 1839  - September 6, 1911) was a Confederate cavalry commander during the American Civil War. When famed cavalry commander J. E. B. Stuart was shot at the Battle of Yellow Tavern and mortally wounded, he fell into Dorsey's arms.

Early years

G. W. Dorsey was born to Samuel Owings Dorsey and Mary Riggs Griffith on April 20, 1839, a descendant of Edward Dorsey of colonial Maryland. He had three sisters and a brother. He married Maggie Owens.

Civil War

He enlisted on May 14, 1861 for Company K of the 1st Virginia Cavalry.[1] He became a lieutenant colonel in May 1862, and after the death of his unit's commander Ridgely Brown, he commanded the regiment.[1] [2] He was wounded at Fredericksburg.[1]

His unit was later transferred to 1st Maryland Cavalry in August, 1864.[3] [4] He was severely wounded at Fisher's Hill.[5]

Yellow Tavern

Stuart rode up to give words of praise to Company K and was shot in the stomach.[6] Dorsey caught him and took him from his horse. Stuart told him: "Dorsey...save your men." Dorsey refused to leave him and brought Stuart to the rear.[7] [8] [9]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Trout, Robert J.. Memoirs of the Stuart Horse Artillery Battalion. 16 June 2019. Univ. of Tennessee Press. Google Books. 9781572337060.
  2. Book: Southern Historical Society Papers. 130 . Virginia Historical Society . Brock. Robert Alonzo. 1876.
  3. Web site: Confederate Veteran: Published Monthly in the Interest of Confederate Veterans and Kindred Topics. 16 June 2019. S.A. Cunningham. Google Books.
  4. Book: Evans, Clement A.. Confederate Military History: A Library of Confederate States History, Written by Distinguished Men of the South -. 1 June 2004. The Minerva Group, Inc.. Google Books. 9781410213730.
  5. Web site: 1st Maryland Cavalry, CSA.
  6. Web site: Genealogy - Gus W. Dorsey - Samuel Owings Dorsey - J. E. B. Stuart - 1st Maryland Cavalry - Brookville, Montgomery County, Maryland.
  7. Web site: Southern Historical Society Papers. Robert Alonzo. Brock. 16 June 2019. Virginia Historical Society. Google Books.
  8. Book: Hatch, Thom. Glorious War: The Civil War Adventures of George Armstrong Custer. 10 December 2013. Macmillan. Google Books. 9781250028501.
  9. Web site: Confederate Veteran. 1909.