From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ellis Spear
Ellis Spear
Ellis Spear ly Spear studied law, but when the Civil War erupted he
became a recruiter and formed Company G of the 20th
Maine. Spear was commissioned as a captain, but was
quickly promoted to the rank of major, then lieutenant
colonel, and later brevetted colonel and brigadier gener-
al at the end of the war. At Appomattox Court House in
1865, Spear witnessed the meeting of Grant and Lee dur-
ing the surrender the Army of Northern Virginia.[1]
After the war, Spear became a patent attorney and
eventually became the United States Commissioner of
Patents and wrote about the war. One author claims that
Spear believed that many members of the 20th Maine,
particularly Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, exag-
gerated their roles at the Battle of Gettysburg actions at
Little Round Top. His writings provide corroboration to
Lieutenant Holman S. Melcher’s claims about initiating
the charge.[2]
Spear died in Washington, D.C., and was buried with
honors at Arlington National Cemetery. His papers were
Bvt. Brig. Gen. Ellis Spear later published by his grandson.
Born October 15, 1834(1834-10-15) Spear was played by Donal Logue in the 1993 film Get-
Warren, Maine tysburg.
Died April 3, 1917(1917-04-03) (aged 82)
Washington, D.C. See also
Place of burial Arlington National Cemetery • List of American Civil War generals
Allegiance United States of America
Union References
Service/branch United States Army • Arlington National Cemetery biography
Union Army
Years of service 1861–5
Notes
Rank Brevet Brigadier General [1] Spear, Ellis, The Civil War Recollections of General Ellis
Commands held 20th Maine Infantry Spear.
[2] Styple, William B. (Ed.), With a Flash of his Sword: The
Battles/wars American Civil War
Writings of. Maj. Holman S. Melcher, 20th Maine
• Battle of Fredericksburg
• Battle of Gettysburg Infantry, Belle Grove Publishing, 1994.
• Battle of Petersburg Persondata
• Appomattox Campaign
Name Spear, Ellis
Other work Patent attorney
Alternative names
Ellis Spear (October 15, 1834 – April 3, 1917) was an officer Short description Union Army general
in the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment who rose Date of birth October 15, 1834
to the rank of general during the American Civil War. Place of birth Warren, Maine
Date of death April 3, 1917
Biography Place of death Washington, D.C.
Spear was born in Warren, Maine, in 1834 and was edu-
cated at Bowdoin College, graduating in 1858. Eventual-
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ellis Spear
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ellis_Spear&oldid=440436206"
Categories:
• 1834 births
• 1917 deaths
• Union Army generals
• Burials at Arlington National Cemetery
• United States Army generals
• Bowdoin College alumni
• People of Maine in the American Civil War
• People from Knox County, Maine
• United States Commissioners of Patents
This page was last modified on 20 July 2011 at 06:09. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-
ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of use for details. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of
the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.Contact us
Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers Mobile view
2