Ephraim Blakeslee (May 12, 1838 – February 22, 1911) was a member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

in the 1880s.

Biography

Blakeslee was born on May 12, 1838, in

Fenner, New York Fenner is a town in Madison County, New York, United States. The population was 1,726 at the 2010 census. The Town of Fenner is in the north-central part of the county. The town is east of Cazenovia Lake. History The area was settled around ...

. While he was a young child his family moved to Wisconsin, where they settled near Ironton in Sauk County. At the age of 23, he married Mary Ballard and six months later, in September 1861, volunteered to serve in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. He joined Company B, 12th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment as a 1st Sergeant and served in that capacity until accepting a commission as 2nd Lieutenant of Company H in May 1862. He was promoted to 1st Lieutenant of the company in January 1864 and in August, he was detached to command Company E. A member of that company, Hosea Rood, later wrote about Blakeslee, "We liked him very much – I think all our men who marched to the sea would vote with both hands that Eph. Blakeslee was not only a most excellent company commander, but a royal good fellow, besides." Blakeslee took part in the Atlanta campaign, the March to the Sea, and the Carolina campaign with the 12th Wisconsin. In April 1865, he received a promotion to

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of Company H, and was mustered out with his men in July. Returning to Sauk County, Blakeslee sold the family farm and moved into Ironton, where he engaged in the mercantile trade. He and his wife Mary had three children before she died in 1871. He married Caroline Swift two years later. Blakeslee died on February 22, 1911, and is buried at Resting Green Cemetery in Ironton.

Assembly career

Blakeslee was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly during the 1880 and 1881 session. He was a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blakeslee, Ephraim People from Madison County, New York People from Sauk County, Wisconsin Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War Union Army officers 1838 births 1911 deaths Burials in Wisconsin 19th-century American legislators