Dr. William Logan Dunn,
Battalion Surgeon
b. Sept 15, 1839
m.
d. 1822, buried Old Glade Spring Presbyterian Church Cemetery, nr. Abingdon, Va.Will Dunn was one of John Mosby's earliest colleagues in the Washington Mounted Rifles (Co. D, First Va. Cav.). Like Mosby's messmate Fountain Beattie, Will Dunn also came from Glade Spring, Washington County, Va, the town where Captain (later Brigidier Gen.) William "Grumble Jones" organizer of the Washington Mounted Rifles, had settled after his Mexican War service.
Dunn was the son of Dr. Samuel Dunn of Glade Spring. Following in his father's footsteps, he pursued a medical education, attending Emory and Henry College. At the outbreak of war, he was attending Jefferson Medical College.
He enlisted on May 14 in the Washington Mounted Rifles, the date they were formed by Captain Jones in Abingdon. At First Manassas, he was assigned to report to the medical staff but primarily served as a scout and courier, with Mosby and Beattie, and was mentioned in despatches by JEB Stuart for his work as a scout. In February, 1862, he ransferred to the ANV Medical Department, assignted to Richmond General Hostial #4 to study surgery under Dr. J.B. Read, and received his M.D. in April 1863.
The following month, he joined the command of his old comrade, John Mosby. In June, the command was formally organized as the 43rd Battalion of Virginia Cavalry and Dr. was formally ordered to report to the battalion on July 14, and officially appointed Assistant Surgeon.
He was captured following a skirmish in the village of Union (later changed to "Unison") in Loudon County on October 12, 1863. H3e was sent to Haqrpers Ferry and then to Fort McHenry. A month later he was sent to City Point to be exchanged.
According to Colonel Mosby, (memoirs) Dr. Dunn was more fond of fighting than he was of doctoring. As a result, he was replaced as the main battalion surgeon by Mosby's UVa classmate Dr. Aristides Montiero at the end of 1864. Nonetheless, Dunn probably saved Col. Mosby's life after he was seriously wounded at "Lakeland" near Rectors Cross Roads, on December 21, 1864. He had also operated on Mosby after his wounding at Gooding's Tavern near Annandale.
In January, 1865, Dr. Dunn was part of the command structure of the two squadrons which were detailed to the Northern Neck under Lt. Col. Willliam Chapman. Returning from the Northern Neck in March, he led a small detachment of men on a raid in Maryland in early April.
Other raids / actions in which he was involved included the the July 4, 1864 raid on Point of Rocks Maryland, the fight at Mount Zion Church two days later the capture in September of several union ambulances in West Virginia, obtaining badly needed medical supplies for the Confederate army, and in the command's scouting operations along the Valley Pike a few days before the Battle of Cedar Creek.
After the War, he returned to his native Glade Spring, where he practiced medicine until his death in 1922
Mentions in various references:
(incomplete, more to be added)Mosby's Rangers, James J. Williamson, 1896
pps108, 188, 280 (above picture from this source)Rebel: The Life and Times of John Singleton Mosby, by Kevin H. Siepel, 1983.
Pps 134,139, 289Links Online:
Online genealogy chart, showing William Dunn, b. 1759, Ulster, d. 1819, Glade Spring, Washington County. Probably the grandfather or great grandfather of William Logan Dunn??
Fountain Beattie's ancestors came from Northern Ireland to Washington County around the same time, possibly in the same migration. Both families were members of the Glade Spring Presbyterian Church and Dr. Dunn's father, Dr. Samuel Dunn is probably the "S. Dunn" shown as a witness to the 1834 will of a William Beattie in Washington County.
Washington County Historical Society
Washington County / Glade Spring history
Descendants / Researcher Contacts:
None yet identified. Please email us if you are a descendant (did he ever marry?) or are researching Dr. Dunn
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