Gus W. Dorsey

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

Gus W. Dorsey
Born(1839-04-20)April 20, 1839
Columbia, Maryland
DiedSeptember 6, 1911(1911-09-06) (aged 72)
Brookeville, Maryland
Allegiance Confederate States of America
Service/branch Confederate States Army
Years of service1861-1865
RankLieutenant Colonel
UnitCompany K, 1st Virginia Cavalry
1st Maryland Cavalry
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

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]

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