Samuel Sherer Elder (ca. 1827/28 – April 6, 1885) was a career

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

artillery officer and a battery commander in the famed

U.S. Horse Artillery Brigade The Horse Artillery Brigade of the Army of the Potomac was a brigade of various batteries of horse artillery during the American Civil War. Made up almost entirely of individual, company-strength batteries from the Regular Army's five artillery ...

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 ...

Early years

Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Elder enlisted in the United States Army in June 1853 and was assigned to Battery C, 2nd U.S. Artillery. During his five-year enlistment, he was promoted from the rank of

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

through first sergeant. His enlistment ended in 1858 and he returned to civilian life. As a civilian, Elder trained as a lawyer.

Career

Upon the outbreak of the

, Elder received a commission as

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

on March 23, 1861, assigned to the

1st U.S. Artillery First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

. Promoted to

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

in the

4th U.S. Artillery The 4th Air Defense Artillery Troupe was constituted 1 June 1821 in the Regular Army as the 4th Regiment of Artillery and organized from new and existing units with headquarters at Pensacola, Florida. As a result of the division of the Artillery ...

, May 14, 1861, Elder commanded Battery E, 4th U.S. Artillery and served in the Eastern Theater with the

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 ...

. He was cited for gallantry and awarded a promotion to brevet

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 ...

for actions at

Antietam The Battle of Antietam (), or Battle of Sharpsburg particularly in the Southern United States, was a battle of the American Civil War fought on September 17, 1862, between Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union ...

, September 17, 1862. By 1863, Elder's battery was assigned to the

, where it served for most of the remainder of the war. He earned a permanent promotion to captain on August 1, 1863. Detached briefly in February 1864, Elder was cited for gallantry at the

Battle of Olustee The Battle of Olustee or Battle of Ocean Pond was fought in Baker County, Florida on February 20, 1864, during the American Civil War. It was the largest battle fought in Florida during the war. Union General Truman Seymour had landed troops a ...

in Florida, and was awarded the brevet promotion to

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. Returning to the Horse Artillery, he was again cited for actions at Drewry’s Bluff, May 5, 1864, and was brevetted

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. He remained with the Army after the war, and was promoted to major in the 2nd U.S. Artillery, June 30, 1882.

Death

Elder died on April 6, 1885 while posted to Fortress Monroe, Virginia, where he had been an instructor of law at the Fortress Monroe Artillery School. His listed age at time of death was 58 years old. He was buried in his hometown of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Early years

Career

Death

Sources

Further reading