George P. Dow

George Parsons Dow was born on August 7, 1840, in Atkinson, New Hampshire. When the American Civil War began, he was a young man in his early twenties. Like thousands of other New England men who answered the Union call, Dow left civilian life to enter military service. He enlisted as a private on October 14, 1861, and was mustered into Company C of the 7th New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry at Manchester, New Hampshire, on November 6, 1861.

Dow quickly demonstrated the qualities needed for leadership. After entering the Army as a private, he was promoted to corporal and continued advancing through the enlisted ranks. On July 18, 1862, he was promoted to First Sergeant. His wartime records identify him as a sergeant during the action for which he later received the Medal of Honor, while First Sergeant was the highest rank he attained during his military service.

The 7th New Hampshire Infantry became an experienced Union regiment whose wartime service extended across several important theaters. After organization in New Hampshire, the regiment was sent south and served in Florida and South Carolina before becoming involved in increasingly intense combat operations. Its service included operations around Charleston and Morris Island, and the regiment participated in the bloody fighting associated with Fort Wagner. In 1864 the 7th New Hampshire also fought in Florida before moving north to Virginia, where it became part of the Army of the James during the campaigns around Richmond and Petersburg.

By 1864 Dow had become an experienced noncommissioned officer who had spent nearly three years in military service. The prolonged campaigning had required the regiment to perform not only conventional infantry combat but also reconnaissance, skirmishing, defensive duty, and operations intended to determine Confederate positions and strength. These circumstances eventually produced the episode that made Dow's name part of Medal of Honor history.

In October 1864, during Union operations near Richmond, Virginia, the 7th New Hampshire Infantry was ordered forward on a reconnaissance intended to obtain information about Confederate defenses. The regiment advanced in an extended line, with Company C positioned on the extreme left. Although Dow was a sergeant, he was placed in command of his company during the reconnaissance, giving him substantial responsibility at a moment when the soldiers were operating dangerously close to Confederate lines.

As Dow led Company C forward, the men crossed a stream by means of a bridge and continued their advance. The sound of artillery fire became so intense that battlefield signals could no longer be heard clearly. Dow and his men continued moving until they entered a clearing and suddenly found themselves directly in front of Confederate defensive works. Enemy artillery was positioned there, while substantial numbers of Confederate infantry were protected behind the fortifications.

At that moment Dow realized that Company C had advanced farther than the remainder of the regiment. The other Union troops had stopped near the stream, leaving his company isolated in a highly exposed position. With Confederate forces in front of them and no immediate support behind them, remaining in place could have resulted in the destruction or capture of the entire company.

Dow ordered his men to withdraw. Under the confusion created by artillery fire, smoke, difficult terrain, and the danger of Confederate troops cutting off their escape, the company became separated from the bridge by which it had originally crossed the stream. Dow and his men therefore had to cross the water without using the bridge and continue searching for a safe route back toward Union lines.

Their situation remained dangerous after the crossing. At one point Dow sought directions near a farmhouse, but when he was directed toward Richmond he suspected that following the advice would lead his company deeper into Confederate-controlled territory. Trusting his own judgment, he led his men in the opposite direction. The decision proved important. They later encountered a Union aide who warned them that Confederate cavalry threatened to cut them off, prompting Dow to move the company rapidly toward safety.

Dow ultimately succeeded in bringing Company C back to the regiment. More importantly, the company had penetrated extraordinarily close to the Confederate defenses around Richmond and returned with valuable information concerning enemy positions and strength. His leadership had therefore accomplished the purpose of the reconnaissance while also preventing his isolated command from being trapped or captured.

The United States later formally recognized Dow's conduct during this dangerous reconnaissance. On May 10, 1884, nearly twenty years after the action, George P. Dow was awarded the Medal of Honor. His official citation recognized his gallantry while commanding his company during the reconnaissance toward Richmond. The award was not simply for advancing toward the enemy; it reflected his leadership while separated from the regiment, his judgment under extreme battlefield pressure, and his successful effort to bring his men safely back with important military information.

For the database, Dow's award belongs to the Medal of Honor 1862–1895 Army period because the Medal was issued in 1884. Although his qualifying act occurred during the Civil War in October 1864, the correct historical Medal of Honor version is determined by the relevant award and presentation era rather than simply by the year of the battlefield action. No additional device or clasp has been verified with his Medal of Honor.

The Medal of Honor is the only individual military decoration that has been sufficiently verified for inclusion in Dow's final medal record. Although he served extensively during the Civil War and participated in qualifying military operations, campaign participation by itself does not prove individual issuance or entitlement to a separate Civil War campaign medal. For that reason, no additional campaign medal should be added to his verified medal record without specific evidence establishing his personal entitlement.

Dow's active Civil War service concluded late in 1864. He was mustered out on December 22, 1864, after approximately three years of service with the 7th New Hampshire Infantry. His military career had taken him from the rank of private to positions of significant enlisted leadership, and by the end of his service he had attained the rank of First Sergeant.

After returning to civilian life, Dow went back to his native New Hampshire. He married Julia A. Carlton on December 7, 1865, beginning the next phase of his life shortly after leaving the Army. He became a farmer in Atkinson and later operated a country store in the community. He also served for many years as the town's postmaster, becoming a familiar and respected figure in local civic life.

The Medal of Honor awarded to him in 1884 ensured that the events of his wartime service would not be forgotten. By that time, almost two decades had passed since the reconnaissance near Richmond, but the government formally preserved the significance of his actions by placing him among the Union soldiers recognized for exceptional gallantry during the Civil War.

Dow remained connected to Atkinson for the remainder of his life. The community in which he had been born ultimately became the place where his military and civilian legacy was preserved. His life represented the experience of a citizen-soldier who entered the Army as a private, rose through the enlisted ranks, faced years of dangerous Civil War service, and then returned home to build a long civilian life.

George Parsons Dow died on September 28, 1910, at the age of seventy. He was buried in Atkinson Cemetery in his hometown of Atkinson, New Hampshire. His enduring military legacy rests particularly on the October 1864 reconnaissance near Richmond, where he commanded an isolated company deep in dangerous territory, assessed an uncertain battlefield situation, avoided capture, returned his men to Union lines, and brought back valuable information about Confederate defenses. For that combination of courage, leadership, and judgment under fire, he received the Medal of Honor and secured a permanent place in the history of the American Civil War.