Rufus Dawes - Civil War

Civil War

When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Dawes organized a volunteer unit from Mauston in June and on July 16, 1861 was elected captain. Company K was mustered into the 6th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, which served for the first months of the war on guard duty in Washington, D.C.. In June, 1862, Dawes was promoted to major. He served with his regiment at the Battle of Groveton and at Antietam and Fredericksburg. In March, 1863, Dawes received a promotion to the rank of lieutenant colonel and served in the Chancellorsville Campaign.

During the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg on July 1, 1863, Dawes led a counterattack on Confederate Brigadier General Joseph R. Davis's brigade of the 2d, 11th and 42nd Mississippi Infantry Regiments and the 55th North Carolina Infantry Regiment, many of whom were sheltered in an unfinished railroad cut west of town, and forced the surrender of more than 200 of the Confederate soldiers. He later served that year in the Mine Run Campaign. During a furlough, Dawes returned to Ohio and married Mary Beman Gates (1842–1921), from Marietta, Ohio, on January 18, 1864. Returning to the Army of the Potomac, he served at the Battle of the Wilderness and the Siege of Petersburg. In July 1864, Dawes was offered the full rank of colonel, but declined the promotion. He was mustered out of the army on August 10, 1864, following the battles of Spotsylvania and Cold Harbor.

On February 24, 1866, President Andrew Johnson nominated Dawes for appointment to the grade of brevet brigadier general of volunteers to rank from March 13, 1865, and the United States Senate confirmed the appointment on April 10, 1866.

Some of Dawes' letters are available to researchers. From his time in the Civil War, Dawes likely developed post-traumatic stress disorder, although he was able to cope with the symptoms.