Alfred W. Ellet

Infobox Military Person
name=Alfred W. Ellet
born= birth date|1820|10|11
died= death date and age|1895|1|9|1820|10|11


caption=Alfred W. Ellet
nickname=
placeofbirth=Bucks County, Pennsylvania
placeofdeath=El Dorado, Kansas
placeofburial=
allegiance= United States of America
branch=United States Army
serviceyears=
rank= Brigadier General
unit=59th Illinois Infantry United States Ram Fleet – Mississippi Marine Brigade
commands=United States Ram Fleet – Mississippi Marine Brigade
battles=Battle of Pea Ridge Vicksburg Campaign
awards=
relations=Charles Ellet, Jr., Charles Rivers Ellet, John A. Ellet
laterwork=

Alfred Washington Ellet (October 11, 1820 – January 9, 1895) was a civil engineer and a brigadier general in the Union Army who commanded the United States Ram Fleet during the American Civil War.

Biography

Alfred Ellet was born at Penn's Manor Bucks County, Pennsylvania on the banks of the Delaware river and was the youngest of six sons and the second youngest of fourteen children. [cite book |last=Crandall |first=Warren D. |authorlink= |coauthors=Isaac D. Newel |title=History of the Ram Fleet and the Mississippi Marine Brigade in the War for the Union on the Mississippi and its tributaries : the story of the Ellets and their men |year=1907 |publisher=Buschart Bros |location=St. Louis |url=http://content.ancestry.com/iexec/?htx=BookList&dbid=29357] In 1824, his family moved to Philadelphia where he attended the public schools. At age 16, he went to Bunker Hill, Illinois to take up farming.

A farmer and dry goods store owner, he was a resident of Illinois when the Civil War broke out. [cite paper
author =Ellet Family
title =Ellet Family Papers, 1839-1968
version =Special Collections M698
publisher =Stanford University. Libraries. Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives.
date =
url =http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf4j49n77j
format =2 linear ft.
accessdate =] In August 1861, Ellet was commissioned a captain in the 9th Missouri Volunteer Infantry Regiment, which later became the 59th Illinois Infantry. In March 1862, he fought in the Battle of Pea Ridge. When his elder brother, Col. Charles Ellet, Jr., undertook the conversion of several river steamers to rams in the spring of 1862, Alfred Ellet became lieutenant colonel of Charles Ellet's U.S. Ram Fleet.

Following Charles Ellet's death in June 1862, Alfred took over the unit and was appointed brigadier general of the newly formed Mississippi Marine Brigade the following November. He commanded the Mississippi Marine Brigade during operations on the Western Rivers until 1864, when the unit was disestablished. He resigned his commission late in that year to return to civilian life.

Following the Civil War, Ellet was a businessman and civic leader in El Dorado, Kansas, where he died. He is buried there in Belle Vista Cemetery.

Namesake

USS "Ellet" (DD-398), which was in service in 1939-46, was named in honor of Alfred W. Ellet and other members of his family.

ee also

* List of American Civil War generals
*Charles Ellet, Jr.
*Charles R. Ellet
*John A. Ellet
*Edward C. Ellet.

References

:NHC

External links

*findagrave|5894365 Retrieved on 2008-02-12

Persondata
NAME= Ellet, Alfred W.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Union Army general
DATE OF BIRTH= October 11, 1820
PLACE OF BIRTH= Bucks County, Pennsylvania
DATE OF DEATH= January 9, 1895
PLACE OF DEATH= El Dorado, Kansas