War dogs of the Civil War?

major bill

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
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Aug 25, 2012
The military has a long history of using dogs in war. I know there are many Civil War photographs showing dogs, but most appear to be pets or mascots. Did either side use dogs in a more military way? Dogs could have been useful as guards and early warning situations. I have seen where dogs were used to track escaped prisoners of war. Does anyone have information on other uses of dogs during the Civil War?
 
I've read that "Major" (10th Maine Infantry) actually was in battle--" running even to the mouth of the rebel cannons" (quotation by Edmund Brookings, 16th Maine Infantry). Also, there's Sallie ("the Gettysburg Dog") who is described as having been killed in action at Hatchers Run. Matteson's Place Worse Than Hell describes the death in battle of another Pennsylvanian dog (shot by a Confederate sniper).
 
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I've read that "Major" (10th Maine Infantry) actually was in battle--" running even to the mouth of the rebel cannons" (quotation by Edmund Brookings, 16th Maine Infantry). Also, there's Sallie ("the Gettysburg Dog") who is described as having been killed in action at Hatchers Run. Matteson's Place Worse Than Hell describes the death in battle of another Pennsylvanian dog (shot by a Confederate sniper).
Fairfield it seems like a Provost Marshall could use some dogs for tracking. I often wondered how many men a Provost Marshall had under him in a given area?
 
Fairfield it seems like a Provost Marshall could use some dogs for tracking. I often wondered how many men a Provost Marshall had under him in a given area?
Military organization sure isn't my forte so I'm sure that there are better answers. According to what I could find, there was a provost marshall for each division or corps; that's Union. CSA (I think) had one for each army. I'm certain that there are others who can give a better response.
 
Troops assigned to assist the Provost Marshall were based on need. Thus, much would depend on what the commander felt nessicary to maintain good order.
 
I've read that "Major" (10th Maine Infantry) actually was in battle--" running even to the mouth of the rebel cannons" (quotation by Edmund Brookings, 16th Maine Infantry). Also, there's Sallie ("the Gettysburg Dog") who is described as having been killed in action at Hatchers Run. Matteson's Place Worse Than Hell describes the death in battle of another Pennsylvanian dog (shot by a Confederate sniper).
I've read a handful of accounts by soldiers in various regiments of dogs being killed in action, but none of those dogs appear to have been serving a military purpose. They tended to be mascots or individual soldiers' pets who accompanied their soldiers into action by their own choice. Somewhere, though, I recall seeing a soldier's account of skirmishers advancing on his regiment with a group of dogs who seemed to have been deployed for an assault. If I recall correctly, the writer and his companions considered the dogs a threat and killed as many as they could. I'm looking for the account and will post it here once I've found it.
 
I've read a handful of accounts by soldiers in various regiments of dogs being killed in action, but none of those dogs appear to have been serving a military purpose. They tended to be mascots or individual soldiers' pets who accompanied their soldiers into action by their own choice. Somewhere, though, I recall seeing a soldier's account of skirmishers advancing on his regiment with a group of dogs who seemed to have been deployed for an assault. If I recall correctly, the writer and his companions considered the dogs a threat and killed as many as they could. I'm looking for the account and will post it here once I've found it.
But I wrote that these dogs were in battle, not that they were carrying arms or operating as combatants. Looking for non-mascot uses of dogs, both sides used them as carriers--either simply of messages or to hide spy documents. The dog "Jack" would seek out fallen "comrades" after a battle. "Sallie" (of Gettysburg fame) was found on the battlefield guarding the wounded of her regiment.
 
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