This is the third extract from my book, “Civil War Immigrant Leaders,” about a man best known for uttering the words, “Dr. Livingstone, I presume.” What is little known about him is that Henry Stanley fought on both sides in the Civil War and set an unenviable record for desertions. The book can be purchased at: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Gene-Schmiel/author/B00HV4SSWK
Before he met Dr. Livingstone in 1871 in Africa and allegedly uttered those timeless words, “Dr. Livingstone, I presume,” Henry Morton Stanley had established an unenviable record in the United States during the Civil War. That record and that of his other actions are recorded in Stanley’s autobiography, The Autobiography of Sir Henry Morton Stanley, much of which modern historians have determined to be fallacious.
John Rowlands (Stanley’s name at birth) was an aimless youth who was born in England in 1841 and moved to New Orleans in t859. There he met a merchant named Mr. Stanley, and Rowlands decided to change his name. When the war began, Stanley volunteered for 6th Arkansas in the Confederate army and fought, among other places, at the Battle of Shiloh, after which he was taken prisoner.
While in a Union prison, Stanley agreed to become a “Galvanized Yankee,” joining the Union army on a promise of changed allegiance and commitment to the Union cause. Not long afterward, he again changes his allegiance and deserted from the Union army. After a few months of service on merchant ships, he joined the Union navy. Having set a pattern earlier, he then deserted from the Navy in early 1865. As a result, he was not only one of the few individuals to have served in both armies and the Union navy, but also to have deserted from them all and as a non-citizen!
After his final desertion, Stanley returned to England and launched a successful career as a trailblazing journalist and explorer. His trip to find Livingstone was only one of his many adventures. Those included searching for the source of the Nile and claiming what would become the Belgian Congo for the King of Belgium. He was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1899 for his service to the British Empire.
Below is a stylized drawing of the meeting between Stanley and Livingstone. Note the American flag being carried by Stanley’s assistant:
GENE SCHMIEL, CIVIL WAR HISTORIAN, AUTHOR, AND LECTURER 