Gustavus Warfield Dorsey (April 20, 1839 – September 6, 1911) was a cavalry commander during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

for the Confederacy. When famed cavalry commander

Jeb Stuart James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart (February 6, 1833May 12, 1864) was a United States Army officer from Virginia who became a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. He was known to his friends as "Jeb,” from the initials o ...

was shot at the

Battle of Yellow Tavern The Battle of Yellow Tavern was fought on May 11, 1864, as part of the Overland Campaign of the American Civil War. Union cavalry under Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan was detached from Grant’s Army of the Potomac to conduct a raid on Richmond ...

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 Col. Edward Dorsey (before 1646 – 1705) was a colonial settler of Maryland and Anne Arundel County. His house at 211 Prince George St. is a historic Annapolis home, once occupied by Francis Nicholson from 1694 to 1709. Early life On 25 ...

colonial Maryland The Province of Maryland was an English and later British colony in North America that existed from 1632 until 1776, when it joined the other twelve of the Thirteen Colonies in rebellion against Great Britain and became the U.S. state of 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 The 1st Virginia Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia. Organization The 1st Virginia Cavalry co ...

. He became a lieutenant colonel in May 1862, and after the death of his unit's commander Ridgely Brown, he commanded the regiment. He was wounded at Fredericksburg. His unit was later transferred to 1st Maryland Cavalry in August, 1864. He was severely wounded at Fisher's Hill.

Yellow Tavern

Stuart rode up to give words of praise to Company K and was shot in the stomach. 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.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dorsey, Gus W. 1839 births 1911 deaths People from Maryland Confederate States Army personnel J. E. B. Stuart Dorsey family of Maryland