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Elon John Farnsworth (July 30, 1837 – July 3, 1863) was a Union Army captain in the American Civil War. He commanded Brigade 1, Division 3 of the
Cavalry Corps (Union Army) Two corps of the Union Army were called Cavalry Corps during the American Civil War. One served with the Army of the Potomac; the other served in the various armies of the western theater of the war. Overview In contrast to the Confederacy, whic ...
from June 28, 1863 to July 3, 1863, when he was mortally wounded and died at the
Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union Army, Union and Confederate States Army, Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In t ...
. He was nominated by
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...
for appointment to the grade 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 to ...
on June 29, 1863 but was not confirmed by the United States Senate before his death at Gettysburg.


Early life and career

Farnsworth was born in Green Oak, Michigan on July 30, 1837.Eicher, John H., and
David J. Eicher David John Eicher (born August 7, 1961) is an American editor, writer, and popularizer of astronomy and space. He has been editor-in-chief of ''Astronomy'' magazine since 2002. He is author, coauthor, or editor of 23 books on science and American ...
. ''Civil War High Commands''. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001. . p. 596.
Elon Farnsworth's uncle, John F. Farnsworth, served in the United States House of Representatives from Illinois between March 4, 1857 and March 3, 1861 and again between March 4, 1863 and March 3, 1873. John Farnsworth was a Union Army
colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
who also commanded cavalry brigades (September 1862 to February 1862) and was nominated for appointed to the grade of brigadier general (November 1862). His appointment also was not confirmed by the United States Senate after the nomination was ordered returned to President Lincoln on February 12, 1863. Elon Farnsworth's family moved to Illinois in 1854. A member of the Chi Psi Fraternity, Farnsworth was expelled from the University of Michigan following a drinking party in which a classmate died after being thrown from a window. He joined the Army as a civilian foragemaster in 1857 and served on the staff of
Albert Sidney Johnston Albert Sidney Johnston (February 2, 1803 – April 6, 1862) served as a general in three different armies: the Texian Army, the United States Army, and the Confederate States Army. He saw extensive combat during his 34-year military career, figh ...
during the
Utah War The Utah War (1857–1858), also known as the Utah Expedition, Utah Campaign, Buchanan's Blunder, the Mormon War, or the Mormon Rebellion was an armed confrontation between Mormon settlers in the Utah Territory and the armed forces of the US gov ...
of 1857–58. He also worked as a buffalo hunter, scout and freighter in the
Colorado Territory The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Colorado. The territory was organized in the ...
.


Civil War

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Farnsworth was appointed a first lieutenant in the
8th Illinois Cavalry The 8th Illinois Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment served the duration of the war, and was the only Illinois cavalry regiment to serve the entire war in the Army of t ...
, the regiment commanded by his uncle, serving with distinction throughout the early stages of the war. Being promoted 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 ...
on December 25, 1861, he was made Assistant Chief Quartermaster of the IV Corps, and in early 1863, he served as aide-de-camp to Brigadier General
Alfred Pleasonton Alfred Pleasonton (June 7, 1824 – February 17, 1897) was a United States Army officer and major general of volunteers in the Union cavalry during the American Civil War. He commanded the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac during the Gett ...
through the
Battle of Chancellorsville The Battle of Chancellorsville, April 30 – May 6, 1863, was a major battle of the American Civil War (1861–1865), and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville campaign. Chancellorsville is known as Lee's "perfect battle" because ...
and early stages of the Gettysburg Campaign. Pleasonton, then in command of the Army of the Potomac's Cavalry Corps, gave Farnsworth command of 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, Cavalry Corps,
Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confedera ...
on June 28, 1863, three days before the
Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union Army, Union and Confederate States Army, Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In t ...
. On June 29, 1863, just two days before the battle, President Lincoln nominated Farnsworth to the grade
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 to ...
of volunteers but the appointment was never confirmed by the United States Senate.


Death at Gettysburg

After the collapse of
Pickett's Charge Pickett's Charge (July 3, 1863), also known as the Pickett–Pettigrew–Trimble Charge, was an infantry assault ordered by Confederate General Robert E. Lee against Major General George G. Meade's Union positions on the last day of the ...
and the defeat of Major General
J.E.B. Stuart James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart (February 6, 1833May 12, 1864) was a United States Army officer from Virginia who became a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. He was known to his friends as "Jeb,” from the initials o ...
's Confederate cavalry on July 3, the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg, Brigadier General
Hugh Judson Kilpatrick Hugh Judson Kilpatrick (January 14, 1836 – December 4, 1881) was an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War, achieving the rank of brevet major general. He was later the United States Minister to Chile and an unsuccessful cand ...
, commanding the 3rd Division, ordered Farnsworth to make a charge with his brigade against Confederate positions south of the
Devil's Den Devil's Den is a boulder-strewn hill on the south end of Houck's Ridge at Gettysburg Battlefield, used by artillery and sharpshooters on the second day of the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. A tourist attraction since ...
area of the battlefield, below
Little Round Top Little Round Top is the smaller of two rocky hills south of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania—the companion to the adjacent, taller hill named Big Round Top. It was the site of an unsuccessful assault by Confederate troops against the Union left ...
. Farnsworth initially balked, arguing there was no hope of success, and only agreed to it when Kilpatrick allegedly accused him of cowardice. Farnsworth made the charge, against elements of John B. Hood's division, under
Evander M. Law Evander McIver Law (August 7, 1836 – October 31, 1920) was an author, teacher, and a Confederate general in the American Civil War. Early life Law was born in Darlington, South Carolina. His grandfather and his two great-grandfathers had f ...
(Hood having been wounded the previous day). Farnsworth rode with the second battalion of the
1st Vermont Cavalry The 1st Vermont Cavalry Regiment was a three years' cavalry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It served in the Eastern Theater from November 1861 to August 1865, in the Cavalry Corps, Army of the Potomac. History The r ...
, alongside Major William Wells. The charge was repulsed with heavy losses, and Farnsworth himself was shot five times in the chest. An account by Confederate Colonel William C. Oates claimed that Farnsworth was surrounded by Confederate soldiers and committed suicide to avoid capture, but this has been disputed by other witnesses and discounted by most historians. Kilpatrick received much criticism for ordering the charge, but no official action was taken against him. Farnsworth is buried in Rockton Cemetery,
Rockton, Illinois Rockton is a village in Winnebago County, Illinois. It is located in the Rock River Valley and is part of the Rockford metropolitan area. The population was 7,685 at the time of the 2010 census, up from 5,296 at the time of the 2000 census. Geog ...
.


Memorials

Battery Farnsworth, a coastal defense built between 1897 and 1899 near
Fort Constitution Fort William and Mary was a colonial fortification in Britain's worldwide system of defenses, defended by soldiers of the Province of New Hampshire who reported directly to the royal governor. The fort, originally known as "The Castle," was sit ...
at New Castle, New Hampshire, was named in his honor.


See also

* Battle of Gettysburg, Third Day cavalry battles


Notes


References

* Boatner, Mark Mayo, III. ''The Civil War Dictionary''. New York: McKay, 1988. . First published 1959 by McKay. * Eicher, John H., and
David J. Eicher David John Eicher (born August 7, 1961) is an American editor, writer, and popularizer of astronomy and space. He has been editor-in-chief of ''Astronomy'' magazine since 2002. He is author, coauthor, or editor of 23 books on science and American ...
. ''Civil War High Commands''. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001. . * Symonds, Craig L. ''American Heritage History of the Battle of Gettysburg''. New York: HarperCollins, 2001. . * Wert, Jeffry D. ''Gettysburg: Day Three''. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. .


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Farnsworth, Elon J. 1837 births 1863 deaths Union Army generals People of Illinois in the American Civil War People of Michigan in the American Civil War Union military personnel killed in the American Civil War People from Winnebago County, Illinois University of Michigan alumni