Norris H. Dorsey

Name: Norris H. Dorsey Company: A Veteran; enlisted December 19, 1861; First Sergeant March 24, 1862; Second Lieutenant November 18, 1862; First Lieutenant April 12, '63; Captain Dec. 12, '64
Birth Date: July 1835 Place: Illinois	Mustered In Date: December 19, 1861 Rank: Private Age: about 26 Residence prior to military service: Red Wing, Goodhue County, Minnesota (1860) Vocation prior to military service: Farmer (1860)
Death Date: after 1920 Place: probably California	Mustered Out Date: September 6, 1865 Rank: Captain Age: about 30 Residence following military service: Goodhue, Goodhue County, Minnesota (1870); Winnebago, Faribault County, Minnesota (1880); Kern County, California (1900, 1910, 1920) Vocation following military service: farm worker (1870); miller (1880); hardware salesman (1900)

Norris H. Dorsey Biography and Civil War Narrative

Norris H. Dorsey was born July 1835 in Illinois to parents who had been born in Kentucky and Vermont. According to the 1860 U.S. Census, on June 1 he lived in Red Wing, Goodhue County, Minnesota. He was a 24-year-old Farmer living with the family of Norris Hobart. Norris was a Minister of the Gospel and possibly Norris Dorsey's uncle. John S. Hobart was the 24-year-old son of Norris Hobart and also a farmer, so the two may have worked together on a farm. On July 10 of the same year, Norris Dorsey is again recorded in the Census. This time he appears living with 30-year-old G. G. Dorsey (older brother of Norris?), in Woodstock Township, Schuyler County, Illinois. Also in the household are Norris's brother, Chauncey H. (23-year-old farmer), and three sisters: Mary (age 18), Julia (age 9), and Harriet (age 6). Living next door was the Truman Hobart family; Truman was Norris's uncle.

On December 19, 1861, Norris Dorsey enlisted in Company A of the 5th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment. When Captain Lucius F. Hubbard of Company A was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel of the regiment on March 24, Dorsey was promoted to First Sergeant. In May Company A moved south to fight in the Civil War. They reported to General John Pope near Corinth, Mississippi, on May 24, and were attached to the 2nd Brigate, 2nd Division of the Army of Mississippi. They immediately were put to work, participating in the Siege of Corinth (May 26-30), including the Battle of Farmington on May 28 in which four of his Company were wounded. That same year they also participated in the Battle of Iuka, Mississippi (September 19) and the (2nd) Battle of Corinth (October 4).

On November 18, Company A's First Lieutenant, Andrew A. Teele, was promoted to Captain of Company I, resulting in the promotion of Norris Dorsey to Second Lieutenant. The following spring, Josiah R. Dartt--who had filled the vacancy when Lucius Hubbard was promoted from Captain to Lieutenant Colonel--resigned his position on April 12, resulting in the promotion of Dorsey to First Lieutenant. While serving as First Lieutenant, Dorsey participated in the Siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi (May 18 - July 4, 1863), the Red River Campaign (March 10 - May 22, 1864), and other duties and engagements. Having signed on as a veteran in early 1864, Dorsey was able to enjoy a Veterans' Furlough from June 17 to August 17, 1864.

William Arkins resigned his position as Captain of Company A on August 22, 1864. For some reason, Company A was left without a Captain for most of the Fall, including the time spent in Mower's Expedition to Brownsville, Arkansas (September 2-10) and the Pursuit of Confederate General Price through Arkansas and Missouri (September 17-November 15). With the 5th Minnesota having been moved to Nashville at the end of November, and an attack on Hood's Confederate army imminent, Norris H. Dorsey was promoted to Captain of Company A on December 12, 1864.

Early on Thursday, December 15, the Union Army at Nashville under command of Major General George H. Thomas prepared to attack the Confederate forces camped to the south of Nashville. By nightfall, the Union Army had pushed back the Confederates, with the 5th Minnesota having participated in the taking of some of the Confederate defensive works. The next morning the Union Army advanced and reformed their lines. About 4:-00pm as a light rain began to fall, the Union Army once again attacked--the 5th Minnesota charging across an open, muddy cornfield and contributing to the taking of Shy's Hill and the breaking of the Confederate line. The Confederate army withdrew to the south along Brentwood Pass with the Union soldiers following close behind. In the two days of fighting at Nashville, there were 11 casualties in Company A: 8 wounded and 3 killed.

After pursuing the Hood's Army for 10 days to the Tennessee River, the 5th Minnesota continued to serve in Mississippi and Alabama. They participated in the Campaign against Mobile, Alabama, and its Defenses (March 7-April 12), including the Siege of Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely (March 26-April 8). The 5th Minnesota concluded its service with garrison duty at Montgomery, Selma, and Demopolis, Alabama (April 2 6- August). Dorsey and his company were mustered out on September 6, 1865, with the rest of the regiment.

Following the war, Norris Dorsey returned to Goodhue county, Minnesota. By 1870 he had married Josephine, born in Sweden about 1849, and was working on a farm in Goodhue, Minnesota. In 1880, Norris and Josephine lived in Winnebago, Faribault County, Minnesota. Their next door neighbor was Norris's brother, Chauncey Dorsey and his family: wife Lucy (born about 1868 in Minnesota) and sister-in-law Emily (born about 1864 in Illinois). The Dorsey brothers both worked as Millers.

By 1900, Josephine Dorsey had died, and Norris Dorsey had moved west to Kern County, California, where he lived with the Arthur Jones family and worked as a hardware salesman. In 1910, Norris again lived with his brother, Chauncey, who had now also moved to Kern County, California; Norris was 74, and Chauncey was 73. Chauncey's wife Lucy, age 53, also lived in the household. The three Dorseys still lived in Kern County in 1920. Also living with them was Norris and Chauncey's cousin, 69-year-old John C. Hobart. John was the son of Truman Hobart who 60 years earlier had lived next to the Dorsey family in Woodstock Township, Schuyler County, Illinois.

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