Pvt. Lewis Alfred Ellison

Lewis Alfred Ellison was an Oklahoma City businessperson and the father of famed author Ralph Ellison.

Lewis, a small-business owner and a construction foreman, died in 1916 after an operation to cure internal wounds suffered after shards from a 100-lb ice block penetrated his abdomen when it was dropped while being loaded into a hopper. The elder Ellison loved literature and doted on his children, so Ralph discovered as an adult that his father had hoped his son would grow up to be a poet.

With his wife, Ida Millsap, Lewis had three sons: Alfred (died in infancy), Ralph, and Herbert Maurice (or Millsap).

• "Ralph Ellison." Wikipedia, revision of 27 August 2017. < https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Ellison > Accessed 28 August 2017.

Lewis A. Ellison also served in the US Army. He first enlisted on May 31, 1898 at Atlanta, Georgia in Company F, 25 United States Infantry Regiment. He was discharged on February 27, 1899. On March 2, 1899 at Bayard, New Mexico, he reenlisted in the same company. On the 1900 United States Census he is stationed in Palsong in Philippine Islands. He was dishonorably discharged on July 19, 1901 at Iba in the Philippine Islands.

Spanish–American War

All four colored regiments were transferred to Florida in the spring of 1898 in preparation for the war with Spain. They were assigned to Major General William R. Shafter's V Corps, which moved to Cuba to capture the major eastern city, Santiago de Cuba.

The 25th participated in the 1 July 1898 assault on El Caney, commanded by Brigadier General Henry W. Lawton. Men from the 25th were among the first to reach the summit. Private T.C. Butler of H Company was first into the blockhouse at the summit, capturing the Spanish flag. An officer of the 12th Infantry ordered Butler to turn over the flag, and the 12th later claimed credit for the capture. Lieutenant Colonel A. S. Daggett, commanding the 25th, filed an official protest over the incident.

On 14 July, when the Spanish surrendered the city, the 25th had advanced closer to Santiago than any other unit.

Philippine–American War

In 1899 the 25th returned from Cuba to posts in the southern Rockies. Late in the year they shipped out to the Philippine Islands to participate in operations against the Philippine nationalist movement of Emilio Aguinaldo. They returned to the U.S. in 1902.

• Source - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/25th_Infantry_Regiment_(United_States...