Eldridge Dawson, from Chicago, Illinois, enlisted as a private in Company E, 7th Kansas Cavalry on August 4, 1861. The regiment was mustered into service on October 28, 1861, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, under the command of Colonel Charles R. Jennison, and became known as “Jennison’s Jayhawkers.” Dawson and the regiment fought at the 1862 battles of Iuka and Corinth and the 1864 battles of Little Blue River, Independence, Byram’s Ford, and Mine Creek.

Dawson was promoted to sergeant on January 1, 1864, and mustered out with the regiment on September 29, 1865.

Carte-de-Visite by A.J. Fox, St. Louis, Mo.

Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 31747