Pvt. John O. Dolson

Pvt. John O. Dolson. Co. A, 2nd US Sharpshooters. , Minnesota was one of only four states in the Civil War with two companies in the two elite Berdan's Sharpshooter Regiments. At Gettysburg the Sharpshooters played a pivotal role in stopping Longstreet's Corps from turning the Union left flank on Little Round Top, where Dolson was mortally wounded on July 2, 1863., Pvt. Dolson, a native of Richfield, died from his wounds at Letterman Hospital at Gettysburg. He was mistakenly buried in the hospital cemetery as John O. Dobson of the 2nd NC Infantry. In 1871, members of the Raleigh, NC Ladies Memorial Association moved his remains for burial, with a Confederate marker, to the Confederate soldiers' section in Oakwood Cemetery in Raleigh., In 2006, Pvt. Dobson's true identity was discovered. Oakwood Cemetery subsequently procured a new Union soldier's marker for Pvt. Dolson and installed an additional marker at his gravesite telling his story, as a rare Union soldier buried as a Confederate. In 2007, the Confederate headstone was sent to Richfield to be featured as a part of the Honoring All Veterans Memorial ending his unique 144 year odyssey.