Bvt Brigadier General William Grosvenor Ely, (USA)

Bvt Brigadier General William Grosvenor Ely, (USA)

• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9360005/william_grosvenor_ely
• https://www.norwichbulletin.com/story/special/2019/10/27/looking-ba...

Civil War Union Brevet Brigadier General. He first served in the Union Army as a 1st Lieutenant and Regimental Commissary of Subsistence for the 1st Connecticut Volunteer Infantry. He was then promoted first to Lieutenant Colonel of the 6th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, then to Colonel and commander of the 18th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry. He was brevetted Brigadier General, US Volunteers on March 13, 1865 for "meritorious services during the war".
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William Grosvenor Ely, born in Killingly in 1836 to Jesse and Harriet Ely, attended local schools and was considered a bright student. He later graduated from Brown University and had majored in civil engineering which led him to his first position working for Rogers Locomotive Works in New Jersey.

Later, in 1861, when the Civil War began, he traveled to Norwich to enlist with a number of men he knew. He was commissioned as a captain with the First Regiment of the Connecticut Volunteers.

Later in his military experience, according to some official documents, he remarkably spent 27 hours while riding on his horse. He was recognized as an officer with a shining future, and his superiors nominated him to be a lieutenant colonel of the Sixth Regimental Connecticut Volunteers.

Some time later in 1862, when the Eighteenth Regiment formed with many recruits from both Windham and New London counties, Ely was promoted to full colonel and was given the command of the regiment.

That unit saw its first battle in Winchester, Virginia in June 1863. His outfit was greatly outnumbered by the Confederates and many of Ely's men were either killed or taken prisoner. Ely was also taken prisoner.

Confederate General James Walker was a witness to Ely's bravery during that battle and in true military tradition, the general returned William’s broken sword to him.

In some of the south’s military prisons, over confidence on the part of the guards left a number of opportunities for possible escapes. The records show that many northern prisoners not only escaped from their respective holding areas, but some were also able to reach Union lines safely.

During their prison confinement, there was another young officer admired for his bravery who decided to make a break from the prison. His plan was to utilize small, crude instruments in order to dig a way out of the prison and then travel north, possibly to Union safety.

A small number of men including Ely did succeed in escaping and traveled by foot about 40 miles from the prison. However, without weapons they were recaptured and returned to the prison.

In the winter of 1864, Ely was exchanged for a southern officer and left the prison, later paroled in March 1864. However, his parole was short, and Colonel Ely rejoined the army given a command of a brigade.

At the Battle of Piedmont in June 1864, he received a serious throat wound and was able to obtain a disability discharge, but also was later brevetted as a brigadier general.

The following January, Ely married Augusta Greene, the daughter of the late William P. Greene, head of a wealthy textile manufacturing family. The young couple eventually had two children.

Ely’s wife, Augusta, had been active in the Ladies’ Aid Society during the war, and was later honored from the state legislature for her efforts.

Fully recovered from his wounds, General Ely first worked for a manufacturing company which produced printing press machinery. But by 1880, he had joined the Greene family’s businesses becoming treasurer of both the Falls and Shetucket Companies.