The Georgia in the Civil War Message Board

"Galvanized Yankees" from Georgia

Just wondering how many "Galvanized Yankees" are recorded from Georgia during the Civil War? I have documentation on one soldier from Cass (now Bartow) County, and would like to know about others. He was recruited from Rock Island Prison in Illinois, where Confederate prisoners were "dying like flies" because of extremely harsh and dismal prison conditions. President Abraham Lincoln "under great political pressure" because of a shortage of enlistments toward the end of the war, authorized recruitments from Confederate prisons. At least two regiments were formed from among the Rock Island prisoners.

According to research, these soldiers were guaranteed a pardon, would not be fighting their former Confederate comrades, and would be sent to the western frontier - far from the battles of the Cvil War.

Six companies from Confederate imprisoned soldiers (6,000) were ultimately recruited and shipped to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where it is said they marched by foot to points west to guard emigrants going west on the Oregon Trail, to keep telegraph wires repaired, and to guard various western Forts against Indians. How many were from Georgia and what counties?

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