Augustus van Horne Ellis
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lawyer, sea captain, and soldier. He was a brevet
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
brigadier general
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
in the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
during the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, and was killed in action at the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
ref>Raus, Edmund. A Generation on the March: The Union Army at Gettysburg (1996). Ellis was brevetted after his death to brigadier to date from Gettysburg.
Early life and career
A.V.H. Ellis was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and educated in the city's public schools. He later attended Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. Prior to the outbreak of the Civil War, he was a lawyer in New York City. At some point, he moved to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
where he became a tax commissioner and a fireman, and later, a sea captain. Ellis is said to have voyaged to the Kingdom of Hawaii
Kingdom of Hawaii
The Kingdom of Hawaii was established during the years 1795 to 1810 with the subjugation of the smaller independent chiefdoms of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lānai, Kauai and Niihau by the chiefdom of Hawaii into one unified government...
, where he became friends with the king of the islands. Kamehameha III
Kamehameha III
Kamehameha III was the King of Hawaii from 1825 to 1854. His full Hawaiian name was Keaweaweula Kiwalao Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa and then lengthened to Keaweaweula Kiwalao Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa Kalani Waiakua Kalanikau Iokikilo Kiwalao i ke kapu Kamehameha when he ascended the throne.Under his...
appointed Ellis as the head of the Hawaiian Navy, but when Ellis discovered that the navy had no warships, he returned to California and became captain of a steamship.
Civil War
When the Civil War began, Ellis was living in New Windsor, New YorkNew Windsor, New York
New Windsor is a town in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was estimated at 25,244 in 2010 by the US Census.The Town of New Windsor is in the eastern part of the county, bordering the Town of Newburgh and the City of Newburgh....
. He joined the 71st New York State Militia as a captain and accompanied the regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, where it became part of the newly organized Army of Northeastern Virginia under Brig. Gen. Irwin McDowell. Ellis saw his first combat action at the First Battle of Bull Run. He was then asked by Charles H. Van Wyck to help train the 56th New York Infantry, a three-years' volunteer regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
. On September 5, 1862, Ellis became the first colonel
Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...
of the newly raised 124th New York Infantry
124th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment
The 124th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, commonly known as the Orange Blossoms, was a volunteer regiment from Orange County, New York, during the American Civil War. Formed in Goshen during the summer of 1862, The unit was officially mustered into United States Service on September 5, 1862,...
. The regiment had been recruited from mainly Orange County
Orange County, New York
Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located at the northern reaches of the New York metropolitan area. The county sits in the state's scenic Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley...
. After training and drilling, the 124th joined the Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
in Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia consists of several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia, in a widespread region generally radiating southerly and westward from Washington, D.C...
.
Ellis and his men saw no heavy fighting until May 1863. Then, at the Battle of Chancellorsville
Battle of Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville Campaign. It was fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near the village of Chancellorsville. Two related battles were fought nearby on...
, he gave the 124th the nickname of "Orange Blossoms". He admonished the soldiers, "Let the girls of old Orange hear a good report of this day's work." The regiment lost 40% of its strength at Chancellorsville.
Within a month after Chancellorsville, the 124th marched north with the rest of the Army of the Potomac towards Gettysburg
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg is a borough that is the county seat, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and the eponym for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg College, and...
. The regiment was part of Ward's Brigade in Birney's Division of Daniel Sickles
Daniel Sickles
Daniel Edgar Sickles was a colorful and controversial American politician, Union general in the American Civil War, and diplomat....
' Third Corps
III Corps (ACW)
There were four formations in the Union Army designated as III Corps during the American Civil War.Three were short-lived:*In the Army of Virginia:**Irvin McDowell ;**James B...
. On the second day of action
Battle of Gettysburg, Second Day
The Battle of Gettysburg, Second Day was an attempt by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee to capitalize on his first day's success. He launched the Army of Northern Virginia in multiple Gettsyburg Battlefield attacks on the flanks of the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. George G...
at Gettysburg, they found themselves posted on Houck's Ridge near the large rocks of Devil's Den
Devil's Den
Devils Den is a boulder-strewn Gettysburg Battlefield hill used by artillery and infantry during the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg, Second Day...
. Because of the heavy casualties at Chancellorsville, the 124th only numbered 18 officers and 220 men when it went into action against John Bell Hood
John Bell Hood
John Bell Hood was a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Hood had a reputation for bravery and aggressiveness that sometimes bordered on recklessness...
's Confederate division on July 2.
Their position fronted a triangular-shaped field. As Benning
Henry L. Benning
Henry Lewis Benning was a lawyer, legislator, judge on the Georgia Supreme Court, and a Confederate general during the American Civil War. He is also noted for the U.S...
's brigade attacked the 124th, Ellis and his field officers remained mounted on atop their horses. An officer in the regiment protested, but Ellis' major, James Cromwell simply stated "The men must see us today." This phrase gave title to a painting by Civil War artist Don Troiani
Don Troiani
Don Troiani is an American painter whose work focuses on his native country's military heritage, mostly from the American Civil War and American Revolution. His highly realist works are most well known in the form of marketed mass produced printed reproductions, illustrated books, and book...
that depicts Ellis and the 124th at Gettysburg. By all accounts, Ellis was brave and cool during the fighting. He remained in the saddle, sword drawn, urging his men to stand firm amongst the extreme chaos and smoke of the fighting. At the height of the fighting, a bullet slammed into Ellis's forehead. He pitched dead off his horse.
In the battle for control of the triangular field, the 124th New York lost 28 men killed, 57 wounded, and 5 missing. Ellis's body was returned to New York City, where he was buried in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
's St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery. The specific location of Ellis' body in the churchyard was uncertain until 2007, when the burial site was positively identified via church archival records by Dr. Gary Brucato Jr. (a psychologist) and Attila Deak (a guest services specialist at an art museum) in the course of freelance field research for a book by Civil War historian E.F. Bishop.
Memorialization
In 1868, the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
built a new fort in Gallatin County, Montana Territory
Gallatin County, Montana
-National protected areas:* Gallatin National Forest * Yellowstone National Park -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 67,831 people, 26,323 households, and 16,188 families residing in the county. The population density was 26 people per square mile . There were 29,489 housing units...
, to provide protection for travelers using the Bozeman Trail
Bozeman Trail
The Bozeman Trail was an overland route connecting the gold rush territory of Montana to the Oregon Trail. Its most important period was from 1863-1868. The flow of pioneers and settlers through territory of American Indians provoked their resentment and caused attacks. The U.S. Army undertook...
. The post was named "Fort Ellis
Fort Ellis
Fort Ellis was an early United States Army outpost established August 27, 1867 to the eastern side of present-day Bozeman, Montana. The fort was established to protect and support settlers moving into the Gallatin Valley. The post was named for Civil War Colonel Augustus van Horne Ellis who was...
". It served as a base for part of the 2nd U.S. Cavalry until being decommissioned in 1886.
The Augustus van Horne Ellis Camp #124 of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War
Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War
Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War is an American fraternal organization, the legal successor to the Grand Army of the Republic . Founded in late 1881, it was originally one of several competing organizations of descendants of Union veterans...
in Goshen, New York
Goshen (village), New York
Goshen is a village in and the county seat of Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 5,676 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport,...
, was named in his honor. The camp annually awards a high school senior the Augustus van Horne Ellis Memorial Scholarship.
A friend of Ellis recalled that he was "a rather cold, harsh ambitious man, and sometimes chilled us with his terrible bursts of profanity; but he was every inch a soldier."