Charles A . R . Dimon Charles Augustus Ropes Dimon ( April 27 , 1841 – May 5 , 1902 ) was a volunteer soldier in the Union Army during the American Civil War . Beginning his service as a private in the 8th Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry , Dimon rose through the ranks to become a colonel of a US Volunteer Infantry Regiment and was awarded the honorary grade of brevet brigadier general United States Volunteers , by appointment of President Andrew Johnson on January 13 , 1866 to rank from March 13 , 1865 , and confirmation by the U . S . Senate on March 12 , 1866 . His success was due in part to the sponsorship of Major General Benjamin F . Butler . In August 1864 , Dimon ( then only 23 ) was placed in command of the 1st United States Volunteer Infantry , consisting of former Confederate soldiers who had been prisoners - of - war . In exchange for an Oath of Allegiance to the United States and their volunteer service , the prisoners were pardoned . Due to their uncertain loyalty , however , the U . S . Volunteer regiments composed of ex - Confederates were primarily sent to the American West to combat Native Americans . Dimon therefore spent much of 1864 and 1865 in command of Fort Rice near present - day Bismarck , North Dakota . After the war , Dimon became manager of the U . S . Cartridge Company in Lowell , Massachusetts and , in 1901 , became mayor of Lowell . Early life . Born in Fairfield , Connecticut to James and Amelia Dimon , Charles Dimon was educated at Fairfield Academy and relocated as a young man to Salem , Massachusetts , finding employment as a bookkeeper . When the Civil War commenced , Dimon , age 19 , enlisted with the 8th Massachusetts Infantry on April 17 , 1861 . Civil War service . 8th Massachusetts . The 8th Massachusetts was one of the first regiments to respond to President Lincoln ' s initial call for volunteer troops following the fall of Fort Sumter . The unit enlisted for a period of 90 days . Dimon served as a private in Company J of the 8th Massachusetts , which was a Zouave company commanded by Captain Arthur F . Devereux . Upon their arrival in Maryland , Company J was assigned to the frigate USS " Constitution " in Annapolis , Maryland to safeguard the iconic vessel as she was transported to New York . For the remainder of their service , the 8th Massachusetts was employed in repairing and guarding railroad lines in the vicinity of Baltimore , Maryland . Dimon returned to Massachusetts with the rest of the regiment and was mustered out on August 1 , 1861 . 30th Massachusetts . In the fall of 1861 , Dimon assisted in the recruitment of a new regiment which would become the 30th Massachusetts Infantry . The regiment was one of several being raised by Maj . Gen . Benjamin Butler for his planned expedition to take New Orleans , Louisiana , the largest city in the Confederacy . The regiment left Massachusetts on January 2 , 1862 , arrived off the Louisiana coast in mid February , and played a minor role in the Siege of New Orleans in April and May 1862 . Early in his service with the 30th Massachusetts , Dimon caught the attention of Maj . Gen . Butler who was impressed with the young man ' s energy and enthusiasm . Through Butler ' s influence , Dimon was commissioned 1st lieutenant on February 20 , 1862 and given the position of regimental adjutant — an administrative role assisting Colonel Nathan Dudley , the commanding officer of the regiment . Serving with the 30th Massachusetts , Dimon played a role in the regiment ' s efforts , in July 1862 , to dig a canal opposite Vicksburg , Mississippi ( the major Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River ) . The aim was to redirect the river and circumvent Vicksburg , thus opening the Mississippi to the Union . The effort was unsuccessful , however , and the 30th ' s brigade marched to Baton Rouge , Louisiana at the end of July . On August 5 , 1862 , Dimon and the 30th Massachusetts saw their first heavy combat during the Battle of Baton Rouge as the Confederates unsuccessfully attempted to recapture the state capital . 2nd Louisiana . In September 1862 , the 2nd Louisiana Infantry , a unit of Louisiana unionists and former Confederate prisoners - of - war was formed . Again , through Butler ' s sponsorship , Dimon was promoted to major and assigned to the 2nd Louisiana as third - in - command , serving under Col . Charles Jackson Paine . The 2nd Louisiana saw action during the Battle of Plains Store , and the Siege of Port Hudson in the spring and summer of 1863 . After the second assault on Port Hudson in June 1863 , Maj . Dimon fell ill and was discharged due to disability on June 22 , 1863 . 1st United States Volunteers . After his recovery , in early 1864 , Dimon sought a position on the staff of Maj . Gen . Butler , who was then in command of the Department of Virginia and North Carolina with headquarters at Fortress Monroe . Instead of placing Dimon on his staff , Butler appointed him as major of a new regiment , the 1st United States Volunteer Infantry , then being formed under Butler ' s supervision . The regiment , organized at the prisoner - of - war camp at Point Lookout , Maryland , would consist entirely of " Galvanized Yankees " , Confederate prisoners willing to take an oath of loyalty to and fight for the Union in exchange for their freedom . Eventually , six such regiments would be formed . Dimon ' s new commission was effective March 18 , 1864 . Dimon was promoted to lieutenant colonel on April 2 , 1864 and , on August 7 , 1864 , was promoted to colonel and command of 1st United States Volunteers at age 23 . During their first months of service , the 1st U . S . Volunteers saw combat in the vicinity of Elizabeth City , North Carolina in the summer of 1864 . However , Lt . Gen . Ulysses S . Grant , then in command of the Union army , decided that prisoner - of - war units should not be employed against their former comrades writing , " it is not right to expose them where , to be taken prisoners , they might surely suffer as deserters . " Therefore , in August 1864 , just as Dimon assumed command of the regiment , the 1st U . S . Volunteers were transferred to Fort Rice in the Dakota Territory . After travel by rail from New York and steamship up the Missouri River , the regiment marched the final 250 miles , reaching Fort Rice on October 17 , 1864 . As commander of the post , Dimon was instructed to complete the construction of the fort , aid settlers , and manage relations with Native Americans in the region . After enduring a frigid winter , the 1st U . S . Volunteers were further troubled in the spring of 1865 by deteriorating relations with the Sioux people . These included the Yanktonai and Lakota people who perceived Fort Rice as a dangerous encroachment on their homeland and led repeated raids against it . Dimon , who had no experience in Native American relations , nonetheless was successful in fostering a positive relationship with the Yanktonai Chief Two Bears and , together , they began to build a growing alliance with the Yanktonai people . The positive relations were fleeting , however , as the arrival of additional troops in Dakota triggered a large attack on Fort Rice by the Sioux on July 28 , 1865 . The 1st U . S . Volunteers were successful in driving off the attack and the garrison survived that summer , according to historian Michele Butts , largely due to Dimon ' s " endless drills and strict discipline . " As commandant of Fort Rice , Dimon took a hardline approach to restricting illegal trade with the Native Americans , ordering the seizure of steamboats coming up the Missouri River and refusing to allow traders to pass without appropriate licenses from the army . He also tried to combat corruption on the part of the Office of Indian Affairs whose local officials frequently misappropriated funds . These practices made Dimon unpopular with civilians in the region and created political difficulties for his superior officer , Brig . Gen . Alfred Sully , who frequently ordered Dimon to change his practices . Discouraged by these difficulties , Dimon requested a medical leave during September 1865 . In his absence , the morale of the 1st U . S . Volunteers deteriorated when they learned that , despite the war ' s end , they would not be mustered out . Dimon returned to Fort Rice in October 1865 to find that many desertions had taken place and discipline was all but non - existent . News soon arrived , however , that the regiment would be mustered out after all and Dimon led what remained of the 1st U . S . Volunteers back to Fort Leavenworth . The regiment , including Dimon , was mustered out on November 27 , 1865 . On January 13 , 1866 , President Andrew Johnson nominated Dimon for the award of the honorary grade of brevet brigadier general , U . S . Volunteers , to rank from March 13 , 1865 , for gallant and meritorious services and the U . S . Senate confirmed the award on March 12 , 1866 . Post - war life . Dimon ' s most notable position in civilian life was once again achieved through his connection to Benjamin Butler . In 1869 , Butler founded the U . S . Cartridge Company in Lowell , Massachusetts and secured major government contracts to produce small arms ammunition . Butler hired Dimon to manage the company in the mid - 1870s and , under Dimon ' s direction , the company grew . By the 1880s it had a work force of approximately 250 and had expanded its operations to include the production of the " Lowell Battery Gun , " a weapon similar to the Gatling gun . Towards the end of his life , Dimon engaged in a political career , becoming the 37th mayor of Lowell in 1901 . He died while holding that office in 1902 of throat cancer . External links .