Eleazer Wheelock Ripley (April 15, 1782 – March 2, 1839) was an American soldier and politician. He fought in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

, eventually rising to the rank of

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

, and later served as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, from 1835 until 1839. He was also a slave owner.

Life

Ripley was born in

Hanover, New Hampshire Hanover is a town located along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 11,870. The town is home to the Ivy League university Dartmouth College, the U.S. Army Corps of Eng ...

. He was the grandson of

Eleazar Wheelock Eleazar Wheelock (April 22, 1711 – April 24, 1779) was an American Congregational minister, orator, and educator in Lebanon, Connecticut, for 35 years before founding Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. He had tutored Samson Occom, a Mohe ...

, the founder of

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

, and the nephew of

John Wheelock John Wheelock (January 28, 1754 – April 4, 1817) was the eldest son of Eleazar Wheelock who was the founder and first president of Dartmouth College; John Wheelock succeeded his father as the College’s second president. Early life John Wh ...

, the college's president. His father, Sylvanus, taught at Dartmouth in the 1780s, and Eleazer graduated from the school in 1800.Francis Samuel Drake,
Dictionary of American Biography, Including Men of the Time
' (J.S. Osgood and Company, 1872), p. 770. Ripley practiced law in

Kennebec County, Maine Kennebec County is a county located in the South-central portion of the U.S. state of Maine. At the 2020 census, the population was 123,642. Its county seat is Augusta, the state capital. The county was established on February 20, 1799, from ...

, and

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...

. He served in the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

from 1810 to 1811, and was elected to the

Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the ...

in 1812. In August 1812, following the outbreak of the War of 1812, he organized the 21st United States Infantry Regiment, and was given the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He was promoted to colonel in March 1813. Most of the regiment's soldiers came from Massachusetts and Maine. Soldiers from the regiment took part in several battles, including

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

(in which Ripley was wounded), Sacketts Harbor,

Crysler's Farm The Battle of Crysler's Farm, also known as the Battle of Crysler's Field, was fought on 11 November 1813, during the War of 1812 (the name ''Chrysler's Farm'' is sometimes used for the engagement, but ''Crysler'' is the proper spelling). A Briti ...

. In April 1814, Ripley was promoted to Brigadier General. (Lieutenant Colonel James Miller, late of the 4th US Infantry Regiment was appointed to succeed him in command of the 21st Infantry.) Ripley was appointed to command the Second Brigade (which included the 21st Infantry) of Major General

Jacob Brown Jacob Jennings Brown (May 9, 1775 – February 24, 1828) was known for his victories as an American army officer in the War of 1812, where he reached the rank of general. His successes on the northern border during that war made him a national ...

's Left Division on the

Niagara River The Niagara River () is a river that flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the province of Ontario in Canada (on the west) and the state of New York (state), New York in the United States (on the east) ...

. At the

Battle of Lundy's Lane The Battle of Lundy's Lane, also known as the Battle of Niagara, was a battle fought on 25 July 1814, during the War of 1812, between an invading American army and a British and Canadian army near present-day Niagara Falls, Ontario. It was one o ...

, Ripley's brigade captured and held the British guns until the American withdrawal. However, he was blamed by Brown for losing the guns during the withdrawal and later demanded a court martial to clear his name. Ripley briefly commanded Brown's division during the

Siege of Fort Erie The siege of Fort Erie, also known as the Battle of Erie, from 4 August to 21 September 1814, was one of the last engagements of the War of 1812, between British and American forces. It took place during the Niagara campaign, and the Americans s ...

after Brown was wounded at Lundy's Lane, but was superseded by Brigadier General

Edmund Pendleton Gaines Edmund Pendleton Gaines (March 20, 1777 – June 6, 1849) was a career United States Army officer who served for nearly fifty years, and attained the rank of major general by brevet. He was one of the Army's senior commanders during its format ...

. He was conspicuous in the repulse of a British assault on August 16, and in an American sortie on September 17, in which he was wounded. Ripley was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the precursor to the Medal of Honor, for his wartime service. He moved to

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties i ...

, in 1815,Charles Peterson,
The Military Heroes of the War of 1812
' (W.A. Lundy, 1849), pp. 159-166. and left the army in 1820 to continue his career in politics. He served in the Louisiana State Senate in 1832. He served as a

United States representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from Louisiana's Second District from March 4, 1835, to March 2, 1839. He was the subject of a United States Supreme Court decision, ''United States v. Ripley'' (1832). As a result of this decision, Ripley owed the United States a sum of money that he had expended while serving as a Major General by brevet. The building involved in the lawsuit is the oldest building in Uptown New Orleans.

Legacy

Ripley's efforts during the war were recognized by the renaming of village of Staunton, Ohio, to

Ripley, Ohio Ripley is a village in Union Township, Brown County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River 50 miles southeast of Cincinnati. The population was 1,750 at the 2010 census. History Colonel James Poage, a veteran of the American Revolution, ar ...

, in his honor. The military facilities Fort Ripley and

Camp Ripley Camp Ripley is a military and civilian training facility operated by the Minnesota National Guard near the city of Little Falls in the central part of the state. The location of the camp was selected in 1929 by Ellard A. Walsh, Adjutant General ...

What's the story behind Minnesota's military training ground, Camp Ripley?
/ref> were also named in his honor. Other places named after him include

Ripley County, Indiana Ripley County is a county located at the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Indiana. According to the 2010 Census, the population was 28,818. The county seat is Versailles. History Ripley County was formed on December 27, 1816, in the sam ...

;

Ripley County, Missouri Ripley County is a county in the Ozarks of Missouri. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 10,679. The largest city and county seat is Doniphan. The county was officially organized on January 5, 1833, and is named after Brigadier General ...

;

Ripley, New York Ripley is a town on Lake Erie in the westernmost part of Chautauqua County, New York. The population was 2,310 at the time of the 2020 census. The town was named after Eleazer Wheelock Ripley, a general in the War of 1812. There are no incorpora ...

;

Ripley, Tennessee Ripley is a city in Lauderdale County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 8,445 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Lauderdale County. Geography Ripley is located at (35.743115, −89.533872). According to the United States ...

;

Ripley, Mississippi Ripley is a city in Tippah County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 5,395 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Tippah County. Colonel William Clark Falkner, great-grandfather of authors William Faulkner and John Faulkner, ...

and

Fort Ripley, Minnesota Fort Ripley is a city in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States, near the confluence of the Mississippi and Nokasippi Rivers. The population was 69 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Brainerd Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Fo ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ripley, Eleazer Wheelock 1782 births 1839 deaths United States Army personnel of the War of 1812 Dartmouth College alumni Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Speakers of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Massachusetts state senators Democratic Party Louisiana state senators United States Army generals Congressional Gold Medal recipients Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana 19th-century American politicians American slave owners

Life

Legacy

See also

References

External links