Encyclopedia of Civil War Military Biography – E
EAGLE, Henry, naval officer, born in New York City, 7 April, 1801; died 26 November, 1882. His father was from Dublin, Ireland, and was major of an Irish Brigade in New York, and during the war of 1812 assisted in preparing earthworks near Fort Greene. The son entered the U.S. Navy as a midshipman on 1 January, 1818, and was commissioned as a lieutenant to the West Indies in 1827. After service in Brazil and on the Pacific Coast, he was made commander in 1844, and superintended the construction of the Stevens iron battery at Hoboken, New Jersey, to which he devoted several years, acting as inspector in New York in 1846. He commanded the bomb-vessel "Etna" and a division of the squadron during the Mexican War, and was civil and military governor, and collector of the ports of Tabasco, Mexico, in 1847-8. In September, 1855, he was commissioned captain. He was the bearer of important communications from Brooklyn to Washington at the outbreak of the Civil War, volunteered for the command of the gun-boat "Monticello," made the first naval attack of the war, and silenced the guns of Sowell's Point battery, Virginia, 19 May, 1861. Subsequently he commanded the frigate " Santee," of the Gulf Blockading Squadron, and during his service a boat-expedition from that vessel captured and destroyed the privateer " Royal Yacht, in the Harbor of Galveston. Texas. He was promoted commodore in 1862, and on 1 January, 1863, was placed on the retired list. In 1864 and 1865 he was engaged as prize commissioner, and in that year became light-house inspector, which office he held for one year. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, pp. 287-288.
EARLY, Jubal Anderson, soldier, born in Franklin County, Virginia, 3 November, 1816. He was graduated at the U S. Military Academy in 1837, appointed a lieutenant of artillery, and assigned to duty at Fort, Monroe, Virginia He served in the Florida War in 1837-8, resigned from the army in July, 1838, and began the practice of law in Virginia. He served in the legislature in 1841-'2, and was commonwealth attorney in 1842-'7, and again in 1848-'52. During the Mexican War he was major of a Regiment of Virginia Volunteers, serving from January, 1847, till August, 1848, was acting governor of Monterey in May and June, 1847, and after the disbanding of the army returned to the practice of law. At the beginning of the Civil War he entered the Confederate Service as a colonel, commanded a brigade at Bull Run, and in the battle of Williamsburg, 5 May, 1862, was supposed to be mortally wounded. He was promoted brigadier-general, and in May, 1863, commanded the division that held the lines at Fredericksburg, while Lee was fighting the battle of Chancellorsville. He also commanded a division at Gettysburg. In 1864 he was ordered to the valley of the Shenandoah, where his operations were at first successful. In July he crossed the Potomac, gained the battle of Monocacy, and threatened Washington, but was obliged to retreat. Toward the end of the month a portion of his cavalry advanced into Pennsylvania as far as Chambersburg, which, by his orders, they burned. He was afterward, 19 September, defeated by Sheridan on the Opequan, and again at Fisher's Hill three days later. On 19 October, General Early surprised the National forces at Cedar Creek in the absence of General Sheridan; but the latter, having arrived in the afternoon, rallied his army and gained a decisive victory, General Early losing the greater part of his artillery and trains. In March, 1865, he was totally routed by General Custer at Waynesboro, and a few days later he was relieved by Lee from the command in the valley; that general saying in his letter, 30 March, 1865: "Your reverses in the valley, of which the public and the army judge chiefly by the results, have, I fear, impaired your influence both with the people and the soldiers, and would greatly add to the difficulties which will, under any circumstances, attend our military operations in S. W. Virginia. While my own confidence in your ability, zeal, and devotion to the cause is unimpaired, I have nevertheless felt that I could not oppose what seems to be the current opinion without injustice to your reputation and injury to the service." After the close of the war he spent some time in Europe, and on his return resumed the practice of law in Richmond. He subsequently took up his residence in New Orleans (alternately with Lynchburg), where, with General Beauregard, he became a manager of the Louisiana State Lottery. He is president of the Southern Historical Society, and has published a pamphlet entitled "A Memoir of the Last Year of the War for Independence in the Confederate States" (Lynchburg, 1867). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, p. 290.
EASTMAN, Seth, soldier, born in Brunswick, Maine, 24 January, 1808; died in Washington, D. C, 31 August, 1875. He was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1829 and assigned to the infantry. After frontier and topographical duty he was assistant teacher of drawing at West Point from 1833 to 1840, served in the Florida War in 1840-'l. and afterward on the western frontier. From 1850 to 1855 he was employed in the Bureau of the Commissioner of Indian affairs to illustrate the national work on the "History, Condition, and Future Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States" (Washington, 1850-'7). He then returned to the frontier, he was retired with the rank of lieutenant-colonel on 3 December, 1863, on account of disability from exposure in the line of duty, and on 9 August, 1866, was brevetted brigadier-general. General Eastman was elected a member of the National Academy of Design in 1838. He was the author of a "Treatise on Topographical Drawing" (1837). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, p. 292.
EASTON, Langdon Cheves, soldier, born in St. Louis, Missouri, 10 August, 1814; died in New York City, 29 April, 1884. He was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1838, and was assigned to the 6th U.S. Infantry. He was promoted to be 1st lieutenant, 23 July, 1839, and held the commission till 15 April, 1851, becoming assistant quartermaster, with the rank of captain, 3 March, 1847, and quartermaster, with the rank of colonel, 2 August, 1864. He served in the Florida and Mexican Wars, and during the Civil War. He was chief quartermaster of the Army of the Cumberland from 15 December, 1863, till 4 May, 1864, and of the armies commanded by Major-General Sherman from 4 May, 1864, till 27 June, 1865, being present during the operations of the campaign from Chattanooga to Atlanta, and subsequently at the capture of Savannah. On the march from the latter city to Goldsborough, North Carolina and thence to Washington, D. C, via Raleigh and Richmond, General Easton acted in the same capacity. After the close of the war he was stationed in Mississippi and Missouri. He was brevetted lieutenant-colonel, colonel, and brigadier-general, 17 September, 1864, " for distinguished and important service in the quarter-master's department in the campaign terminating in the capture of Atlanta, Georgia," and major-general, 13 March, 1865, " for meritorious service during the war." He was promoted to be colonel and assistant quartermaster-general, 6 June, 1872, retiring from active service, 24 January, 1881. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, p. 292.
EATON, Amos Beebe, soldier, born in Catskill, New York, 12 May, 1806; died in New Haven, Connecticut, 21 February, 1877, was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1820. He took part in the Seminole War, was appointed chief commissary of subsistence of General Taylor's army at the beginning of the Mexican War, and was brevetted major after the battle of Buena Vista. He was depot purchasing commissary in New York from 1861 till 1864. when he was appointed commissary-general of the Subsistence Bureau in Washington, D. C. After being promoted successively to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, colonel, and brigadier-general, he was brevetted major-general in 1865, and was placed on the retired list in 1874. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, p. 296.
ECKERT, Thomas Thompson, telegrapher, born in St. Clairsville, Ohio, 23 April, 1825. In 1849 he was appointed postmaster at Wooster, Ohio, and as he had learned telegraphy, the wires were brought into his office. In 1852 he supervised the construction of the telegraph line between Pittsburg and Chicago, over the Fort Wayne route, and was offered the superintendency. When the lines under his management were made a part of the Western Union Telegraph Company, his jurisdiction became largely extended. In 1859 he left this to superintend the affairs of a gold-mining company in Montgomery County, North Carolina, where he remained until the Civil War began, when he moved to Cincinnati. He was called to take charge of the military telegraph office at the headquarters of General McClellan, and in 1862 accompanied that officer to the peninsula as superintendent of the military telegraph, Department of the Potomac, with the rank of captain and assistant quarter- master. In September he was called to Washington to establish the military telegraph headquarters in the war department buildings, and was promoted to the rank of major. From this time till the close of the war he was on intimate terms with President Lincoln and Secretary Stanton. In 1864 he was brevetted lieutenant-colonel, and afterward brigadier-general. The same year he was appointed assistant Secretary of War, retaining the office till 1866, when he resigned and became general superintendent of the eastern division of the lines of the Western Union Telegraph Company. In 1875 he became president of the Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Company, and in 1880 president of the American Union Telegraph Company. On the consolidation of these companies with the Western Union Telegraph Company, in 1881, he returned to the service of the latter company as vice-president and general manager. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, p. 298.
EDDY, Norman, Congressman, born in Seipio, Cayuga County, New York, 10 December, 1810; died in Indianapolis, Indiana, 28 January, 1872. He was graduated in medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in 1835, and moved in 1836 to Mishawaka, Indiana. where he practised for several years, but finally gave up his profession for that of the law, and was admitted to the bar in April, 1847, removing to South Bend, Indiana, in the same year. He was elected sole senator on the Democratic ticket in 1850, and in 1852 was elected to Congress over Schuyler Colfax, but was defeated by him in 1854. President Pierce appointed Mr. Eddy district attorney for Minnesota in 1855, and in 1856-'7 he was commissioner of the Indian trust lands in Kansas. In the autumn of 1861 he organized the 48th Indiana Regiment, was commissioned its colonel, and continued in command till July, 1863, when he resigned because of disability resulting from wounds received in the battle of Iuka, Mississippi. In that engagement the 48th lost 119 killed or wounded out of 420 that entered the fight. Colonel Eddy was appointed collector of internal revenue by President Johnson in 1865, and in 1870 was elected Secretary of State of Indiana, which office he held till his sudden death from heart disease. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, p. 300.
EDSON, Theodore, soldier, born in Massachusetts in 1838; died in Rock Island, Illinois, 16 November, 1870. He was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1860, and served with honor in the Civil War, being chief of ordnance in General Rosecrans's Tennessee campaign. He was brevetted captain on 31 December, 1862, for services at the battle of Stone River, given his full rank on 3 March, 1863, and commanded various arsenals and ordnance depots, being chief of ordnance in the Department of Virginia and North Carolina in 1864-5. He was promoted to major in 1867, and in 1869- 70 was instructor in gunnery at West Point. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, p. 305.
EDWARDS, John, lawyer, born in Jefferson County, Kentucky, 24 October, 1815. He received a common-school education, studied law, and entered upon the practice of his profession. He was a member of the legislature of Indiana from 1845 till 1849, when he emigrated to California, and was at once made alcalde (Mayor). He returned to Indiana in 1852, and was in the same year elected to the state senate. He moved subsequently to Iowa, was chosen a member of the State Constitutional Convention in 1855, and was in the legislature from 1856 till 1860, serving the last two years as speaker of the house. On 21 May, 1861, he was appointed lieutenant-colonel and aide-de-camp on the governor's staff. He organized and commanded state troops until May, 1862, when he became colonel of the 18th Iowa Infantry. On 26 September, 1864, he was promoted to be brigadier-general of volunteers, and was mustered out of the service, 15 January, 1866. After the close of the war he settled at Fort Smith, Arkansas, and was appointed U. S. assessor, 6 August, 1866. He was also elected a member of the 42d Congress as a literal Republican, but his election was successfully contested by Thomas Boles, who took his seat, 9 February, 1872. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, p. 306.
EDWARDS, Landon Brame, physician, born in Prince Edward County, Virginia, 20 September, 1845, was educated at Randolph Macon College. In 1863 he enlisted in the artillery corps of the Confederate Army, in which he served until the end of the war. He was graduated at the medical department of the University of the City of New York in March. 1867, and until October of that year served as house physician in the Charity Hospital, Blackwell's Island, and then as assistant physician to the Hospital for Nervous Diseases at Lake Mahopac, New York Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, p. 306.
EDWARDS, Ninian Wirt, lawyer, born in Frankfort, Kentucky, 15 April, 1809, was taken by his father, when an infant, to Kaskaskia, then the capital of Illinois Territory. He was graduated at the Transylvania University, and at its law department in 1833. Before his graduation he was married to Elizabeth P. Todd, a sister of Mrs. Abraham Lincoln. Mr. Edwards began the practice of law in 1833, and in 1834 was appointed attorney-general of Illinois, but resigned in 1835, and moved to Springfield. In 1836 he was elected to the legislature, and with Abraham Lincoln and others was active in securing the removal of the capital to Springfield. Mr. Edwards remained a member of the legislature continuously till 1852. During that period he was also a member of the convention that framed the state constitution in 1848. In 1854 he was appointed by, the governor attorney before the board of commissioners whose duty it was to investigate the claims of canal contractors against the state, amounting to over $1,500,000. From 1854 till 1857 he served as superintendent of public instruction, and drafted a bill regarding free schools, which afterward became a law. In August, 1861, he was appointed by President Lincoln captain commissary of subsistence, which appointment he held until 22 June, 1865. In the latter year Mr. Edwards retired almost entirely from the practice of his profession. At the request of the State Historical Society, he prepared a volume entitled "The Life and Times of Ninian Edwards, and History of Illinois," which is considered an authority (1870). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, p. 308.
EDWARDS, Oliver, soldier, born in Springfield, Massachusetts, 30 January, 1835. He was graduated at the Springfield high-school in 1852. At the beginning of the Civil War Mr. Edwards was commissioned 1st lieutenant and adjutant of the 10th Massachusetts Regiment, and in January, 1862, was appointed senior aide-de-camp on the staff of General Darius N. Couch. He was commissioned major of the 37th Massachusetts on 9 August, and was promoted colonel on 27 August. On 19 October, 1864, he was brevetted brigadier-general "for gallant and distinguished services at the battle of Spottsylvania Court-House, and for meritorious services at the battle of the Opequan." He was brevetted major-general, 5 May, 1865, "for conspicuous gallantry in the battle of Sailors Creek, Virginia" and was made a full brigadier-general, 19 May, 1865. After serving through the Peninsula Campaign of 1862, and those of Fredericksburg and Gettysburg, General Edwards was ordered to New York City in command of a picked provisional brigade, to quell the draft riots in July, 1863, and placed in command of Fort Hamilton and Fort Lafayette. At the end of the enforcement of the draft, General Edwards returned to the Army of the Potomac, and took part in the battle of Rappahannock. During the second day of the battle of the Wilderness, when in command of the 4th Brigade, 2d Division , 6th Army Corps, he made a charge at the head of the 37th Massachusetts Regiment, and succeeded in breaking through the Confederate lines. At Spottsylvania, Virginia, 12 May, 1864, he held the "bloody angle" with his own brigade from 5 A. M. till 4 P. M. and was at the head of twenty regiments from that hour until 5 a. m., when the enemy withdrew, making twenty-four hours of continuous fighting. He subsequently participated in all the battles of the overland Campaign, and accompanied the 6th Corps when sent to the defence of Washington against the advance of Early. He was afterward with General Sheridan in his campaign in the Shenandoah valley, and took part in the battle of Winchester, of which town he was placed in command by that officer. The latter also offered him the provost-marshal-generalship of the Middle Military Division, but he declined it, preferring a direct command. In the final assault on Petersburg, General Edwards's brigade captured the guns in front of three of the enemy's brigades, and he received the surrender of the city from the hands of its mayor, 3 April, 1865. At the battle of Sailor's Creek, on 6 April, General Edwards, with the 3d Brigade of the 1st Division , captured General Custis Lee and staff, with his entire brigade, Lieut.-General Ewell and staff, and many others. He was mustered out of the army on 16 January, 1866, and has been since engaged in mercantile pursuits, both in this country and in England. He invented the Florence oil-stove. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, pp. 308-309.
EGAN, Thomas W., soldier, born in New York City in 1836; died there, 24 February, 1867. He entered the 40th New York Regiment at the beginning of the Civil War, and was made lieutenant-colonel, 14 June, 1861. In June, 1862, he was promoted colonel, and participated in all the battles of the Army of the Potomac. During General Grant's Overland Campaign of 1864 he commanded a brigade, receiving his commission 8 September, 1864, and was wounded at Petersburg. At the battle of Boydton plank-road he commanded the division, and was brevetted major-general. He was seriously wounded in November, and on recovery was given a division in the Army of the Shenandoah. General Egan was mustered out of the service, 15 January, 1866, and subsequently lived in New York. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, p. 314.
EGLE, William Henry, historian, born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 17 September, 1830. After receiving a public-school education he spent three years as a printer in the office of the "Pennsylvania Telegraph," and subsequently had charge of the state printing. In 1853 he became editor of the "Literary Companion," and also of the "Daily Times," both of which were soon discontinued. He then turned his attention to medicine, and was graduated at the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania in 1859, after which he settled in Harrisburg. He served during the Civil War as surgeon of Pennsylvania volunteers, and in the Appomattox Campaign was chief medical officer of General David B. Birney's division in the 24th Army Corps. Since 1870 Dr. Egle has been surgeon of militia, and is now (1887) senior medical officer of the National Guard of Pennsylvania He turned his attention to historical research in 1871, and has been elected corresponding member of various historical and learned societies in the United States and England. In March, 1887, he was appointed state librarian of Pennsylvania. Among his works are " History of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, pp. (Harrisburg, 1876); " Notes and Queries relating to Interior Pennsylvania" (3d series, 18H1—'7); "History of the County of Dauphin " (1883); " History of. the County of Lebanon" (1883); "Historical Register" (2 vols., 1883-'4); "Pennsylvania Genealogies, Scotch, Irish, and German" (1880); "Centenary Memorial of the Founding of the city of Harrisburg" (1886); and "Pennsylvania in the Revolution" (2 vols., 1887). He has also edited, with John Blair Linn, "Pennsylvania Archives" (2d series, 12 vols., 1874-'80). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, p. 315.
EKIN, James Adams, soldier, born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, 31 August, 1819. He was a ship-builder prior to 1861, but at the beginning of the Civil War entered the 12th Pennsylvania Infantry as 1st lieutenant and regimental quartermaster, and at the expiration of three months was made captain and assistant quartermaster in the volunteer army, being stationed in Pittsburg as acting assistant commissary of subsistence. In October, 1861, he was made assistant quartermaster and stationed in Indianapolis until December, 1863, when he was admitted to the regular army with similar rank, to date from March, 1863, and assigned to duty as quartermaster of the cavalry bureau in Washington till February, 1864. He was then promoted to lieutenant-colonel and made chief quartermaster of the cavalry corps of the Army of the Potomac, remaining as such until August, when he was advanced to colonel and given charge of the 1st Division of the quartermaster-general's office in Washington, where he continued till 1870, holding various appointments in that office. Subsequently he was chief quartermaster of the 5th Military District and the Department of Texas, then chief quartermaster of the Department of the South, and in similar capacity in Jeffersonville, Indiana, and finally disbursing agent of the quartermaster's department in Louisville, Kentucky, being assistant quartermaster-general of the army from February, 1882. He received the brevet of brigadier-general in the volunteer army, and those of major to brigadier-general in the regular army, for his services during the war. In August, 1883, he was retired, and has since resided in Louisville. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, pp. 317-318.
ELDRIDGE, Hamilton N., soldier, born in South Williamstown, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, 23 August, 1831; died in Chicago, Illinois, 27 November, 1882. He was graduated at Williams in 1856, in the same class with James A. Garfield, and at the Albany law Institute in 1857, and began practice in Chicago. In July, 1862, with his partner, Colonel F. W. Tourtellotte, he raised the 127th Illinois Regiment, and was made its lieutenant-colonel. He commanded the regiment in the operations of General Sherman from Memphis to Grenada and Chickasaw Bayou, distinguished himself at Arkansas Post, was promoted colonel, and took part in the siege of Vicksburg, where he bore the colors with his own hand, after several color-bearers had been shot, and led his regiment, in advance, to the fortifications of the enemy. After the surrender, he was compelled by sickness to resign, and was brevetted brigadier-general for gallantry. After a slow recovery he resumed the practice of law in Chicago. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, p. 319.
ELIOT, William Greenleaf, 1811-1887, educator, clergyman, opponent of slavery. Active in Sanitary Commission in the Civil War. (Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, p. 325)
ELIOT, William Greenleaf, educator, born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, 5 August, 1811; died at Pass Christian, Mississippi, 23 January, 1887. His great-grandfather was brother to the great-grandfather of Charles William Eliot, president of Harvard. He was graduated at Columbian College, Washington, D. C., in 1831, and at Harvard divinity-school in 1834. In the latter year he was ordained pastor of the Church of the Messiah (Unitarian) in St. Louis, Missouri, a place which he held until 1872. During all this time he was energetically employed in improving the condition and advancing the interests of the public schools of St. Louis. A man of untiring energy and rare administrative ability, he was engaged in all sorts of public and philanthropic enterprises, and has probably done more for the advancement of St. Louis and all the southwest than any other man that has lived in that section. He was always a bold and outspoken opponent of slavery. In 1861 he was found among the small band of resolute men who assisted Generals Nathaniel Lyon and Francis P. Blair in preserving Missouri to the Union; and during the war he was active in the western Sanitary Commission. In 1872 he was chosen to succeed Dr. Chauvenet as chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis, and held the office until his death. He has published a “Manual of Prayer” (Boston, 1851); “Discourses on the Doctrines of Christianity” (Boston, 1852; 22d ed., 1886); “Lectures to Young Men” (1853; 11th ed., 1882); “Lectures to Young Women” (1853; 13th ed., enlarged, with the title “Home Life and Influence,” St. Louis, 1880); “The Unity of God” (Boston, 1854); “Early Religious Education” (1855); “The Discipline of Sorrow” (1855); “The Story of Archer Alexander, from Slavery to Freedom” (Boston, 1885); and a great number of pamphlets, tracts, discourses, and review articles. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888. Vol. II, p. 325
ELKINS, Stephen Benton, politician, born in Perry County, Ohio, 26 September, 1841. He moved to Missouri when very young, was graduated at Missouri University in 1860, and studied law. He served in 1862-'3 as a captain in the 77th Missouri Regiment, and in the latter year went to New Mexico, where he was admitted to the bar in 1864. He also engaged in mining and stock-raising there, and accumulated a fortune. He was a member of the territorial legislature in 1865-'6, attorney-general of the territory in 1868-'9, and U. S. District Attorney in 1870-'2. He was then elected a delegate to Congress as a Republican, and served two terms, from 1873 till 1877, making a speech in 1874 on the admission of New Mexico to the Union, which attracted much attention. In 1875 he became interested in the West Virginia system of railroads, and has lately resided in New York. Mr. Elkins was a member of the National Republican Committee from 1872 till 1884. He took an active part in the Chicago convention of 1884 that nominated James G. Blaine for the presidency, and earnestly supported him in the canvass. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, pp. 325-326.
ELLERY, Frank, naval officer, born in Newport, Rhode Island, 23 July, 1794; died in Castleton, Vermont, 24 March, 1871, entered the U.S. Navy as a midshipman on 1 January, 1812, and served in the frigate "President" on all her cruises, being wounded in the action with the " Belvidere " by the bursting of the gun at which he was stationed. He. received a sword and the thanks of Congress for his services on Lake Champlain, was in the "Constellation" in the Mediterranean in 1815, at the capture of an Algerine frigate and a Turkish flag-ship, and assisted in expelling McGregor's band of adventurers from Amelia Island, Florida, in 1817, capturing one of their privateers with her prize. He became lieutenant, 28 March, 1820, commanded the "Cyane," of the Brazil Squadron, in 1827, and was on duty at the Boston and New York rendezvous in 1829-'37. He commanded the steamer "Enterprise" in 1840, was put on the reserved list, 13 September, 1855, commanded the Boston rendezvous again in 1861, and was commissioned commodore on the retired list, 4 April, 1867. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, p. 326.
ELLET, Charles, engineer, born in Penn's Manor, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 1 January, 1810; died in Cairo, Illinois, 21 June, 1862. He was destined by his father for the life of a farmer, but his inclinations led him to mathematical and engineering pursuits. First as a rodman, then as a volunteer, and subsequently as a paid assistant on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, he soon acquired means to visit Europe, and completed his education in the Ecole Polytechnique in Paris. He became an engineer on the Utica and Schenectady Railroad, then on the Erie, and subsequently chief engineer of the James and Kanawha Canal. In 1842 he planned and built the first wire suspension bridge in this country, across the Schuylkill River at Philadelphia. He designed and built the railroad suspension bridge across the Niagara River below the falls in 1847, and afterward built a suspension bridge at Wheeling, Virginia. He then engaged in many important engineering works, constructed a remarkable temporary track across the Blue Ridge, improved the navigation of the Kanawha River, and aided in laying out the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and in 1846-'7 he was president of the Schuylkill Navigation Company. He was among the first to advocate the use of steam rams, and suggested a plan to the Russian government by which the allied fleet before Sebastopol might be destroyed. At the beginning of the Civil War in 1861 he became interested in military matters, and devoted much attention to the use of rams in naval warfare. He sent a plan for cutting off the Confederate Army at Manassas to General McClellan, who rejected it, and Ellet then wrote two pamphlets censuring McClellan's mode of conducting the campaign. He urged upon the government the construction of steam rams, for use on the large rivers of the west, and after his plans had been rejected by the navy department he presented them to the Secretary of War, by whom they were approved. He was then commissioned colonel of engineers, and converted several powerful light-draught steamers on the Mississippi River into rams. With these he engaged in the naval battle off Memphis on 6 June, 1862, and sank and disabled several of the Confederate vessels, but during the battle he was struck above the knee by a musket-ball, and died from the effects of his wound. Among his most noteworthy labors was his investigation of the hydraulics of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, the result of which he published in a paper entitled the " Physical Geography of the Mississippi Valley, with Suggestions as to the Improvement of the Navigation of the Ohio and other Rivers," printed in the "Smithsonian Transactions" (Washington, 1851). His other publications are "An Essay on the Laws of Trade”, (1839); "The Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, containing Plans for the Protection of the Delta from Inundation" (Philadelphia, 1853); a pamphlet on "Coast and Harbor Defences, or the Substitution of Steam Battering-Rams for Ships of War" (Philadelphia, 1855). and many other scientific papers.— His brother Alfred W.. held a commission under him as lieutenant-colonel in the same fleet, and was appointed brigadier general of volunteers, 1 November, 1862. He ordered the burning of Austin, Mississippi, on 24 May, 1863, in retaliation for information furnished by citizens to Confederates of General Chalmers's command, which enabled them to fire upon a Federal transport. He resigned on 31 December, 1864.—Charles's son, Charles Rivers, soldier, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1841; died in Bunker Hill, Illinois, 29 October, 1862, was engaged at the beginning of the war in studying medicine, and became assistant surgeon in one of the military hospitals. In 1862 he commanded one of his father's rams in the action at Memphis. After his father's death, on the organization of the Mississippi brigade by his uncle, Alfred W. Ellet, he was appointed colonel, and when his uncle was commissioned brigadier-general he was placed in command of the marine brigade. Choosing the ram " Queen of the West" for his headquarters, he made many daring expeditions on the Mississippi, and succeeded in running the Confederate batteries at Vicksburg as he was cruising between that stronghold and Port Hudson. On 10 February, 1863, he made an expedition up the Red River and captured the Confederate steamer "Era" and some other vessels. After ascending the river with success the pilot ran his vessel aground, placing her in such a difficult position that she was disabled by the fire from the Confederate fort, and fell into the hands of the enemy. Colonel Ellet made his escape on a bale of cotton, and was rescued by the " De Soto." During the siege of Vicksburg, and afterward, he rendered valuable assistance to General Grant in keeping open his communications, but in the course of this duty his health failed, owing to the influence of the climate, and he died suddenly in Illinois, where he had retired for rest. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, pp. 326-327.
ELLIOT, George Henry, military engineer, born in Lowell, Massachusetts, 31 March, 1831. He was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1855 as a lieutenant of artillery, served on the Texas frontier, and entered the Engineer Corps in 1857. He was engaged in constructing the works on Alcatraz Island, San Francisco Harbor, and other fortifications on the Pacific Coast till 1870, was promoted major on 3 March, 1867, chief engineer of the Washington aqueduct in 1870-'l, engineer secretary of the Light-house Board, and in 1873 went to Europe to examine light-house systems there. He became assistant to the chief of engineers at Washington in 1884, and was advanced to the grade of lieutenant-colonel on 8 August, 1882. He superintended the improvement of Connecticut River in 1882-3. and in 1883-'7 Harbor improvements at Nantucket, Newport, Providence, New Bedford, and other places on the coast of New England. He published "Light-House Systems in Europe " (1874), and " The Presidio of San Francisco " (1874). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, pp.
ELLIOTT, Gilbert Molleson, soldier, born in Thompson, Windham County, Connecticut, 7 October, 1840; died on Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, 24 November, 1863. He moved to New York in early childhood and studied at the Free Academy (now the College of the City of New York), received the gold medal for excellence as the leader of his class at four successive commencements, and delivered the valedictory oration at his graduation in 1861. He also took the Burr gold medal for mathematics, the Cromwell gold medal for history and belles-lettres, and the Ward bronze medals for excellence in logic, philosophy, law, Greek, Latin, and Spanish, oratory, composition, and engineering. In April. 1861, when Fort Sumter was fired upon, he unfurled the stars and stripes from the college building, and in his address declared he would defend his country's honor with his life's blood. Full of loyalty and patriotism, he gave up his purpose of studying law and entered the United States service in October, 1861, as 1st lieutenant in the 102d New York Volunteers. He took part in Banks's campaign in the Shenandoah Valley, distinguished himself at Antietam, was soon afterward promoted to captain, and a little, later was attached to the staff of General John W. Geary. He acted as ordnance officer in the 2d Division of the 12th Army Corps, and rendered effective service during the battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. When his commission as major was received, he returned to his regiment and snared its fortunes. The 12th Corps was transferred to Chattanooga in 1863. His regiment was directed to lead the assault at Lookout Mountain, and he was placed in actual command of it. While leading the skirmishers, he was mortally wounded by a sharp-shooter. The government gave him the posthumous brevets of lieutenant-colonel and colonel. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, p. 330.
ELLIOT, Samuel Mackenzie, 1811-1857, physician, abolitionist leader, Union Army officer. Active in the New York abolition movement.
ELLIOT, Washington Lafayette, soldier, born in Carlisle, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, 31 March, 1831, accompanied his father in cruises in the West Indies in 1831-'2, and on board the " Constitution" on a cruise in the Mediterranean. He studied at Dickinson College, and in 1841 entered the U. S. Military Academy. In May, 1846, he was commissioned as 2d lieutenant of mounted rifles. He served with his regiment in Mexico till the surrender of Vera Cruz, was promoted 1st lieutenant on 20 July, 1847, and after the war was stationed at Fort Laramie and in Texas and New Mexico, becoming a captain in July, 1854. In September, 1858, he distinguished himself in conflicts with the Navajos in New Mexico. In the beginning of the Civil War he took part in the actions at Springfield and Wilson's Creek, Missouri, was appointed colonel of the 2d Iowa Cavalry in September, 1861, and on 5 November, 1861, was promoted major in the regular army. He afterward commanded a brigade of cavalry in the Army of the Tennessee, was engaged at the capture of Madrid, brevetted for gallantry at the capture of Island No. 10, and again for services at the siege of Corinth, and in a raid on the Mississippi and Ohio Railroad in May, 1862. He was promoted to brigadier-general of volunteers in June, 1862, became chief of cavalry in the Army of Virginia in August, 1862, and was wounded at the second battle of Bull Run. He commanded the Department of the Northwest in the beginning of 1863, was placed in command of a division in the Army of the Potomac in the summer of that year, then in the Army of the Cumberland, and was engaged in re-enforcing General Burnside, and commanded in the action of Mossy Creek, Tennessee. He was subsequently chief of cavalry in the Army of the Cumberland, and took part in the Atlanta Campaign and in the pursuit of General Hood. In 1865 he commanded a division of the 4th Corps, and was in the battles around Nashville. For services at Nashville he received the brevets of major general of volunteers and brigadier-general in the regular army. He was also brevetted major-general, U. S. Army, for gallant and meritorious services during the war. He became lieutenant-colonel in August, 1866, colonel in April, 1878, and on 20 March, 1879, was retired at his own request. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, pp. 330-331.
ELLIOT, Stephen, soldier, born in Beaufort, South Carolina, in 1832; died in Aiken, South Carolina, 21 March, 1866. At the beginning of the war he raised and equipped a battery of light artillery, known as the Beaufort Artillery. At Pinckney Island, in August, 1862, he commanded three batteries, and was promoted for his gallantry. Shortly afterward he was placed in command of Fort Sumter, where he continued during the long bombardment to which it was subjected by General Gillmore. In July, 1864, he was wounded by the explosion of the mine at Petersburg, and was disabled for the rest of the war. He attained the grade of brigadier-general. In 1865 he took the oath to support the Constitution of the state and of the United States, and later was a candidate for Congress, being opposed by ex-Governor Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, p. 332.
ELLIS, Theodore Gunville, soldier, born in Boston, Massachusetts, 25 September, 1829; died in Hartford, Connecticut, 8 January, 1883. He became a civil engineer, was chief engineer of the Sackett's Harbor and Saratoga Railroad, subsequently had charge of silver mines in 1856-'58 in Mexico, and in 1859 became engineer of the Hartford Dyke. He entered the Federal Army as adjutant of the 14th Connecticut Infantry, was engaged at Antietam and Fredericksburg, was promoted major in April, 1863, and at the battle of Chancellorsville commanded the regiment. At Gettysburg his regiment was hotly engaged, and captured five battle-flags in a bayonet charge. In September, 1863, he became lieutenant-colonel, and in October colonel, of the regiment. He was engaged at Mine Run, and in the battle of the Wilderness and the subsequent conflicts commanded a brigade. During the summer of 1864 he commanded the camp at Annapolis, Maryland His regiment had become greatly reduced in numbers by many severe engagements. In the winter of 1864-7 he was a member of a general military court, at Washington, he was mustered out on 8 June, 1865, with the brevet rank of brigadier-general. In 1867 he became surveyor-general of Connecticut, He was for several years vice-president of the American Society of Civil Engineers. In 1874 he conducted hydraulic experiments with large apertures at Holyoke, Massachusetts. At the time of his death he had charge of the government works on the Connecticut River. He was the author of many important papers on engineering published in the "Transactions" of the American Society of civil engineers, and elsewhere. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, p. 334.
ELLSWORTH, Ephraim Elmer, soldier, born in Mechanicsville, Saratoga County, New York, 23 April, 1837; died in Alexandria, Virginia, 24 May, 1861. Alter entering mercantile life in Troy and New York City, he moved at an early age to Chicago, where he studied law, and became a solicitor of patents. In 1860 he organized a regiment of Zouaves, which became renowned for the perfection of their discipline, and of which he was commissioned colonel. He accompanied Lincoln to Washington in 1861, and proceeded thence to New York, where in April he organized a Zouave regiment composed of firemen. Of this regiment he was appointed colonel, and sent to Alexandria, Virginia. Seeing a Confederate flag floating above a hotel owned by a man named Jackson, Ellsworth rushed to the roof and tore down the flag. On his way from the roof he was met and shot dead by Jackson, who in turn was immediately killed by one of Ellsworth's men, Frank E. Brownell. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, p. 335
ELY, William G., soldier, born about 1835. At the beginning of the Civil War he enlisted as a private for the three months' call, went out again as lieutenant-colonel of the 6th Connecticut Infantry, and was afterward elected colonel of the 18th Regiment. On 13 June, 1863, in charge of the 2d Brigade, he advanced upon the Fort Royal pike, and, while in action, was made a prisoner. He was confined in Libby prison, Richmond, Virginia, till the following February, when, with 108 other officers, he escaped through the famous tunnel dug under Twentieth Street. About fifty of the party were recaptured, among them Colonel Ely, in a state of great exhaustion. He was taken by cavalry forty-two miles out, after being absent four days, and returned to the prison. A few weeks later he was paroled, and returned north, his exchange following. On 17 May, 1864. he rejoined his regiment, and commanded it at the battle of Piedmont on 4 June. 1864. On 18 June, in the advance toward Lynchburg, he was wounded in the throat and temporarily disabled. In August he was assigned to the command of a brigade, and in September was brevetted a brigadier-general. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, p. 340
ELZEY, Arnold, soldier, born in Somerset County, Maryland, 18 December, 1816; died in Baltimore, Maryland, 21 February, 1871. His name was originally Arnold Elzey Jones, but he dropped the last name shortly after his graduation at the U. S. Military Academy in 1837. He was assigned to the 2d U.S. Artillery , and served in the Florida War of 1837-'8 and in the Canada border disturbances. During the Mexican War he was brevetted captain for gallantry at Contreras and Churubusco, and was also at Fort Brown, Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, San Antonio, Molino del Rey, Chapultepec, and the capture of the city of Mexico. He became captain in the 2d U.S. Artillery , 14 February, 1849, and served against the Seminoles in 1849-'50 and 1856. On 25 April, 1861, he resigned and entered the Confederate service, with the rank of colonel. At the first battle of Bull Run he was senior colonel of Kirby Smith's Brigade, and in the afternoon after General Smith was wounded, led a successful charge, for which he was complimented by General Beauregard, and promoted on the field to a brigadier-generalship by Jefferson Davis. He commanded a brigade through Stonewall Jackson's valley campaign, was wounded and had his horse shot under him at Port Republic, and at Cold Harbor was shot through the head. This last wound prevented him from seeing any more active service, but after his recovery he was promoted to major-general, and commanded the Department of Richmond till just before the close of the war, when he joined Hood in Georgia, and was with him at Chattanooga. After the close of the war he retired to a farm near Jessup's Cut, Anne Arundel County, Maryland Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, p. 340.
EMMONS, George Foster, naval officer, born in Clarendon, Rutland County, Vermont, 23 August, 1811; died in Princeton, New Jersey, 2 July, 1884. He entered the U.S. Navy as midshipman, 1 April, 1828, was promoted to passed midshipman in 1831, and was attached to Captain Charles Wilkes's exploring Expedition in 1838- 42. He was made lieutenant on 25 February, 1841, and after the loss of his vessel, the "Peacock," off Columbia River, Oregon, in July of that year, had charge of a party that explored the country south of the Columbia to the head-waters of the Sacramento, and went thence to San Francisco. He then served in various vessels, taking part in several engagements on shore in California, during the Mexican War. He became commander on 28 January, 1856, commanded the " Hatteras," of the western Gulf Squadron, in 1862, and in that year captured Cedar Keys, Florida, and Pass Christian, Mississippi, and about twenty prizes. He afterward commanded the " R. R. Cuyler," of the same squadron, and after being commissioned captain, 7 February, 1863, was fleet-captain under Admiral Dahlgren off Charleston. He commanded the " Lackawanna," and a division of from five to fifteen vessels in the Gulf of Mexico in 1864-'5, and while at New Orleans assisted in destroying the ram "Webb," and preventing the destruction of the city and shipping. In 1866-'8 he commanded the " Ossipee”, carrying the U. S. Commissioners to Alaska, and hoisting the American flag over that country. He was made commodore, 20 September, 1868, appointed senior member of the Ordnance Board in Washington in 1869, and given charge of the Hydrographic Office in 1870. He was promoted to rear admiral, 25 November, 1872, and retired from active service on 23 August, 1873. He published " The Navy of the United States from 1775 to 1858" (Washington, 1853). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, p. 351.
EMMONS, William Hemsley, soldier, born in Queen Anne County, Maryland, 9 September, 1811, was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1831, and appointed lieutenant of artillery and mounted rangers. He was stationed chiefly at sea-ports in 1831-'6, and was in Charleston Harbor during the nullification trouble in South Carolina. He was in the Creek Nation in 1836-'8, was appointed 1st lieutenant of topographical engineers in the latter year, and employed successively on the improvements of Delaware, River, and on the northeast boundary survey. He went with General Stephen W. Kearny to California in 1840, and was on his staff during the Mexican war, when he was successively made captain and brevet-major. He was on the Mexican and California border in 1848-'53, and in those years was commissioner and astronomer to run the boundary between Mexico and the United States, especially under the Gadsden Treaty of 1853. He was in Kansas in 1854, in Utah in 1858, and remained on border duty till 9 May, 1861, when he resigned. He was reappointed as lieutenant-colonel of the 6th U.S. Cavalry on 14 May, and he took part in the Peninsular Campaign, being engaged at Yorktown, Williamsburg, and Hanover Court-House. He was made brigadier-general of volunteers, 17 March, 1862, commanded a division under Banks in Louisiana in 1863, and, having been raised to the command of the 19th Corps, was with the same commander in 1864 in the Red River Expedition, in which he displayed unwonted bravery and skill, winning distinction especially at Sabine Cross-Roads, at Pleasant Hill, and at Cane River. Later in the same year, at the head of the 19th Corps, he offered a splendid and successful resistance to Early in the Shenandoah valley, especially at Opequan Creek, 19 September, at Fisher's Hill, 22 September, and at Cedar Creek in October. He received the successive brevets of major-general of volunteers, 23 July, 1864, and brigadier-general and major-general in the regular army, 13 March, 1865, and on 25 September, 1865, was commissioned full major-general of volunteers. After the war he was successively in command of the Department of West Virginia in 1865-'6, of the Department of Washington in 1869-'71, and of the Department of the Gulf in 1871-5. He retired in 1876 with the rank of brigadier-general. General Emory has published " Notes of a Military Reconnaissance in Missouri and California" (New York, 1848); and "Report of the United States and Mexican Boundary Commission" (Washington).—His son. William Hemsley, naval officer, was graduated at the U. S. Naval Academy in 1866, became master in 1869, and lieutenant in 1870, and in 1884 commanded the "Bear," of the Greely relief Expedition. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, p. 352.
ENGELHARD, Joseph Adolphus, soldier, born in Monticello, Mississippi, 27 September, 1832; died in Raleigh. North Carolina, 17 February, 1879. After attending schools in Mississippi and New Albany, Indiana, he was graduated at the University of North Carolina in 1854. He studied law at Harvard, and subsequently at Chapel Hill, and was licensed to practice in the County courts in 1850. He then moved to Tarboro, where he remained until the beginning of the war. He entered the Confederate Army as captain and quartermaster of the 33d Regiment in May, 1861, and in April, 1862, was promoted to be major and quartermaster of Branch's brigade. In December of that year he was transferred to General Pender's brigade as its adjutant-general, and served in this capacity till Lee's surrender. He became the editor of the Wilmington "Journal" in 1865, and was afterward elected secretary of state, which office he held till his death. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, p. 356.
ENGLE, Frederick, naval officer, born in Delaware County. Pennsylvania, in 1799; died in Philadelphia, 12 February, 1868. He entered the U.S. Navy as a midshipman on 30 November, 1814, and became lieutenant on 13 January, 1825. During the Mexican War he commanded the " Princeton”, and served in the Blockading Squadron. He was promoted to captain in 1855, and at the beginning of the Civil War was sent to China to bring home the "Hartford." He was then assigned to the command of the Philadelphia Navy-yard, and subsequently became governor of the naval asylum in that city. He was promoted to be rear-admiral on the retired list, 25 July, 1866. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, p. 357.
ENGLISH, Earl, naval officer, born in Crosswicks, Burlington County, New Jersey, 18 February, 1824. He was educated in Trenton, New Jersey, and entered the naval service, 25 February, 1840. His first cruise was in the U. S. frigate "Constellation" around the world, returning after an absence of four years, then being ordered to the Naval Academy in Annapolis, where he was graduated in 1846. He joined the U. S. frigate "Independence," and was actively employed on the Pacific Coast, principally in California. He was at the capture of Mazatlan, Mexico, in November, 1847, and remained there till the close of the Mexican War. In 1852 he was attached to the U. S. brig " Dolphin," which was engaged in " deep-sea soundings" across the Atlantic Ocean from Newfoundland. He was appointed master, 1 March, 1855, and lieutenant on 14 September. In 1857 he cruised in the East Indies, and took part in the engagement with the barrier forts, seven miles below Canton, China, in which he was wounded. He was made lieutenant-commander, 16 July, 1862, and served throughout the Civil War, being employed principally in the Gulf of Mexico and the sounds of North Carolina, and commanding at different periods the " Somerset," "Sagamore," and "Wyalusing." In 1866 he was appointed commander, and after the war served four years on the East India Station. He was then employed in Japanese waters during the struggle that resulted in the overthrow of the Tycoon. When the latter was defeated at Osaka, 18 February, 1868, he received him on board the "Iroquois," which was then anchored in the Osaka River. He was commissioned captain, 28 September, 1871, commodore, 25 March, 1880, and rear-admiral, 4 September, 1884, at which time he resigned the office of chief of the Bureau of Equipment and Recruiting, which he had held for six years. He then took command of the European Station, and was retired, 18 February. 1886. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, p. 358.
ERNST, Oswald Hubert, soldier, born near Cincinnati, Ohio, 27 June, 1842. He entered Harvard in 1858, and two years later was appointed to the U. S. Military Academy, where he was graduated in 1864, becoming at once 1st lieutenant in the Engineer Corps. In July, 1864, he became assistant engineer of the Army of the Tennessee, and served throughout the Georgia Campaign. After a short service at the U. S. Military Academy as assistant professor of engineering, he was appointed assistant engineer in constructing fortifications on the Pacific Coast, and remained so occupied till 1868. He was promoted captain in March, 1867, had command of an engineer company at Willett's Point, New York, in 1868-'71, and in 1870 was sent as astronomer with the government expedition to Spain, to observe the solar eclipse of that year. Later he was appointed instructor of practical military engineering, military signaling, and telegraphy at the Military Academy, performing also the duties of architect for the more important structures of the place. In 1878 he became assistant engineer on western river improvements, and in 1880 was given charge of the improvements of the Mississippi River, between the Illinois and Ohio Rivers. He received his commission as major in May, 1882, and has since had charge of the works of river and harbor improvement in Texas. Major Ernst has written articles on engineering subjects, and has also published "A Manual of Practical Military Engineering" (New York, 1873). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, p. 365.
EUSTIS, James Biddle, senator, born in New Orleans, 27 August, 1834. He received a classical education, was graduated at Harvard law-school in 1854, admitted to the bar in 1856, and practised in New Orleans. When the Civil War began he entered the Confederate Army, and, after one year service as judge-advocate on the staff of General Magruder, was transferred to the staff of General Joseph E. Johnston, with whom he served till the close of the war. He then resumed practice in New Orleans, was elected a member of the legislature prior to the Reconstruction Acts, and was one of the committee sent to Washington to confer with President Johnson on Louisiana affairs. He was a member of the state house of representatives in 1872, and was elected a member of the state senate for four years in 1874. He was chosen to the U. S. Senate as a Democrat in January, 1870, to fill the vacancy which, it was claimed, existed by failure of the Senate to give the seat to P. B. S. Pinchback, who had been elected in 1873. Only three Republicans took part in the election, on the ground that no vacancy existed, and Mr. Eustis was not given his seat till late in 1877, serving till 1879. He then became professor of civil law in the University of Louisiana, but in 1884 was again elected to the U. S. Senate for the full term of six years. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, pp. 379-380.
EUSTIS, Henry Lawrence, engineer, born at Fort Independence, Boston, Massachusetts, 1 February, 1819; died in Cambridge, Massachusetts, 11 January, 1885, was graduated at Harvard in 1838, and in that year was appointed to the U. S. Military Academy, where he was graduated at the head of his class in 1842. He was then assigned to the Engineer Corps, and ordered to Washington as assistant to the chief engineer. He assisted in the construction of Fort Warren and Lovell's Island sea-wall, in Boston Harbor, in 1843-'5, and during the following two years was connected with engineering operations in Newport Harbor. In 1847 he was made the principal assistant professor of engineering at West Point, but resigned in 1849 in order to become professor of engineering in Harvard, and organized that department in the Lawrence scientific school there, and held this office until his death. He was dean of the scientific faculty from 1871 till 1885. In the Civil War he was colonel of the 10th Massachusetts Volunteers, and served at Williamsport, Fredericksburg, Marye Heights, Salem, Gettysburg, Rappahannock Station, Mine Run, Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, and many minor actions. He was brevetted brigadier-general of volunteers on 12 September, 1863, and resigned on 27 June, 1864, owing to impaired health. He returned to his college duties in Cambridge in 1864. He was a member of various learned societies, to whose transactions he contributed papers, and also wrote reports and technical articles. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, p. 380.
EVANS, Nathan George, soldier, born in Darlington District, South Carolina, in 1823; died in Midway, Alabama, 80 November, 1868. He was graduated at the U. & Military Academy in 1848, assigned to the 1st U.S. Dragoons, and served on frontier duty and against the Indians. He was made 1st lieutenant in the 2d Cavalry, 3 March, 1855; captain, 1 May, 1856; and distinguished himself in a fight with Comanche Indians, 1 October, 1858, killing two of them in personal combat. He resigned on 27 February, 1861, entered the Confederate service as colonel, and commanded a brigade at Bull Run. He was then promoted to brigadier-general, and commanded the Confederate forces at Ball's Bluff, 19 October, 1861. He also commanded in the actions at James Island, South Carolina, and Kinston, North Carolina, in 1862, and subsequently became major-general. He led a division of Gordon's corps at Hatcher's Run, surrendered with General Lee on 9 April, 1865, and from 1866 till his death was engaged in teaching. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, p. 383.
EWELL, Benjamin Stoddert, soldier and educator, born in Washington, D. C, 10 June, 1810. He is a grandson of Benjamin Stoddert, first Secretary of the Navy. He was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1832, and assigned to the 4th U.S. Artillery. He served in the Military Academy as assistant professor of mathematics in 1832-'5, and as assistant professor of natural and experimental philosophy in 1835-'6, when he resigned. From 1836 till 1839 he was one of the principal assistant engineers of the Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad. He was professor of mathematics at Hampden-Sidney from 1840 till 1846, when he was elected to the Cincinnati professorship of mathematics and military science in Washington College, Lexington, Virginia, which office he held two years. In 1848 he was elected professor of mathematics and acting president of William and Mary, and became president in 1854. He held this office till the beginning of the Civil War, when the college was suspended. He then served in the Confederate Army as colonel of the 32d Virginia Regiment in 1861-'2, and afterward was appointed adjutant-general to General Joseph E. Johnston, when he commanded the departments of Tennessee and Mississippi. He was again elected president of William and Mary in 1865, and still (1887) retains the office. The degree of LL. D., was conferred on him from Hobart College in 1874. He was made an honorary member of the Royal Historical Society of Great Britain in 1880. Dr. Ewell urged the election and re-election of General Grant to the presidency because of his moderation and magnanimity at the close of the Civil War. He was opposed to secession in 1861, thinking it unnecessary and unconstitutional, and resisted the measure until war was waged. Since 1865 he has exerted himself to foster harmony between the north and the south, and loyalty to the National government, he spoke in the House of Representatives at Washington on 1 April, 1874, and again on 25 January, 1876, in support of the petition of William and Mary College for an appropriation on account of the destruction of its buildings and property during the Civil War. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, pp. 391-392.
EWELL, Richard Stoddert, soldier, born in Georgetown, D. C, 8 February, 1817; died in Springfield, Tenn., 25 January, 1872. was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1840. His first experience of actual warfare was obtained in Mexico, where, in August, 1847, he was engaged at Contreras and at Churubusco. He was promoted to captain, 4 August, 1849, and in June, 1857, won distinction fighting against the Apaches in New Mexico. When the Civil War began, he resigned his commission, entered the Confederate Army, and was actively engaged throughout the war. He was promoted to the rank of major-general, and fought at Blackburn's Ford, 18 July, 1861, and at Bull Run, 21 July. In the following year he distinguished himself under Jackson, by whom he was greatly trusted, and took an active part in the various movements preceding the second battle of Bull Run, losing a leg at Warrenton Turnpike on 28 August, 1862. He took part also in the Maryland Campaign. When General Jackson was fatally wounded at Chancellorsville, Ewell, at his request, was promoted to lieutenant-general, and assigned to the command of the 2d Corps. At the head of Jackson's veterans he fought valiantly at Winchester, at Gettysburg, and at the Wilderness on the Confederate left. He was captured, with his entire force, by Sheridan at Sailor's Creek, 6 April, 1865. After the war he retired to private life. General Grant says in his " Memoirs ": "Here " [at Farmville] "I met Dr. Smith, a Virginian and an officer of the regular army, who told me that in a conversation with General Ewell, a relative of his" [who had just been made a prisoner], " Ewell had said that when we hail got across the James River he knew their cause was lost, and it was the duty of their authorities to make the best terms they could while they still had a right to claim concessions. The authorities thought differently, however. Now the cause was lost, and they had no right to claim anything. He said further, that for every man that was killed after this in the war, somebody is responsible, and it would be but very little better than murder. He was not sure, that Lee would consent to surrender his army without being able to consult with the president, but he hoped he would." Grant says this gave him the first idea of demanding the surrender.—his brother, Thomas Ewell, was killed at the battle of Cerro Gordo. Mexico, in 1847. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, p. 392.
EWING, Andrew, Confederate soldier, born in Nashville, Tennessee; died in Atlanta, Georgia, 16 June, 1864. He studied law and became eminent in his profession, and for years participated in the political controversies that distinguished the history of Tennessee at that time. He represented the Nashville District in Congress from 3 December, 1849, to 3 March, 1851, having been elected as a Democrat. In February, 1861, he was elected as a Unionist to represent Davidson County in the proposed state convention, which was voted down by the people. Subsequently he was drawn away from his allegiance to the Union, and took an active part against the government. After the fall of Fort Donelson he left his home, and until he died held an office in the Confederate Army. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, p. 393.
EWING, Hugh Boyle, soldier, born in Lancaster, Ohio, 31 October, 1826, was educated at the U. S. Military Academy. At the time of the gold fever, in 1849, he went to California by way of New Orleans and Texas, and travelled extensively through that country, going to the High Sierra in an expedition sent by his father, then Secretary of the Interior, to rescue emigrants from the snows. In 1852 he returned by way of Panama, as bearer of despatches to Washington. He then went to Lancaster and completed his law studies, began the practice of his profession in St. Louis in 1854. and two years later opened an office with his brother Thomas in Leavenworth, Kansas. In 1858 he moved to Ohio, in order to assume charge of his father's salt-works. In April, 1861, he was appointed brigade-inspector of Ohio volunteers, with the rank of major, and took part in the early combats in the mountains of West Virginia under McClellan and Rosecrans. He commanded the 30th Ohio Regiment in August, 1861, was appointed brigadier- general, 29 November, 1862, and brevetted major-general in 1865. He led a brigade at Antietam, and at the siege of Vicksburg. and a division at Chickamauga, which formed the advance of Sherman's army, and which, in a desperate battle, carried Mission Ridge. He was afterward ordered to North Carolina, and was preparing a secret joint military and naval expedition up the Roanoke, when the war came to an end. In 1866 he was appointed U. S. Minister to Holland, where he served for four years. After his return he bought a small estate near his native town, where he has since resided. General Ewing has travelled widely in this country and abroad, and is author of " The Grand Ladron, a Tale of Early California," and "A Castle in the Air" (1887). Son of Thomas Ewing. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, p. 394.
EWING, Thomas, lawyer, born in Lancaster, Ohio, 7 August, 1829, was educated at Brown University, which gave him the degree of A. M. in 1860. He was private secretary to President Taylor from 1849 till 1850, and subsequently studied law in Cincinnati, where he began to practice his profession. In 1856 he moved to Leavenworth, Kansas, and became a member of the Leavenworth Constitutional Convention of 1858, and in 1861 became the first chief- justice of the state, he was a delegate to the Peace Conference of 1860. He resigned his judge-ship in 1862, recruited the 11th Kansas Regiment, was made its colonel, and served with distinction in the Civil War, taking part in the battles of Fort Wayne, Cane Hill, and Prairie Grove. He was made brigadier-general, 13 March, 1863, for gallantry at the last-named battle, commanded the district of the border, and subsequently at Pilot Knob, 28 September, 1864, with a thousand men, held his position against the repeated assaults of the Confederates under Price, thus checking the invasion of Missouri. He made a retreat to Rolla in 1864, and in 1865 was brevetted major-general of volunteers. After the war he practised law in Washington, D. C, but returned to Lancaster in 1871, and in 1877-'81 was a member of Congress, where he prepared a bill to establish a bureau of labor statistics. He also actively supported the measures that stopped the use of troops at the polls, advocated the remonetization of silver, and the retention of the greenback currency. In 1879 he was the unsuccessful candidate for governor of Ohio. At the close of his last term in Congress he declined a renomination, and moved to New York City, where he has since practised law. Son of Thomas Ewing. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, p. 394
EWING, Charles, soldier, born in Lancaster, Ohio, 6 March, 1835; died in Washington, D. C, 20 June, 1883, was educated in his native town, at a Dominican College, and at the University of Virginia. At the beginning of the Civil War he received a commission in the regular army as captain of the 13th Infantry, and also served for some time on the staff of his brother-in-law, Gen. William T. Sherman. He was brevetted major in 1863 for gallantry in the first assault at Vicksburg, where he was wounded while planting the flag of his battalion on the parapet. He was also brevetted lieutenant-colonel in 1864 for services in the Atlanta Campaign, and colonel in 1865 for gallant conduct during the war. On 8 March, 1865, he was appointed brigadier-general of volunteers. He resigned his commission in 1867, and practised law successfully in Washington, D. C. during the remainder of his life. [Son of Thomas Ewing]. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, pp. 394-395.
