★  Farnsworth, Elon John

Elon John Farnsworth
:us34stars:
Farnsworth.jpg


Born: July 30, 1837

Birthplace:
Green Oak, Michigan

Father: James Patten Farnsworth 1810 – 1898
(Buried: Rockton Township Cemetery, Rockton, Illinois)​

Mother: Amelia M. Clough 1815 – 1891
(Buried: Rockton Township Cemetery, Rockton, Illinois)

Signature:
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Education:

Attended University of Michigan until he got expelled​

Occupation before War:

1857: Joined United States Army as Civilian Foragemaster​
1857 – 1858: Served on the Staff of Albert Sidney Johnston​
Buffalo Hunter, Scout, and freighter, in Colorado Territory​

Civil War Career:

1861: 1st​ Lt. in 8th​ Illinois Cavalry Regiment​
1861: Promoted to the rank of Captain​
Assistant Chief Quartermaster for IV Army Corps​
1863: Aide to Brig. General Alfred Pleasonton​
1863: Cavalry Brigade Commander appointed by Pleasonton​
1863: President Lincoln nominated him for Brigadier General​
1863: United States Senate never confirmed him as Brig. General​
1863: Ordered at Gettysburg by Kilpatrick to make a charge​
1863: He bulked the order knowing it has no chance for success​

Died: July 3, 1863

Place of Death: Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Cause of Death: Five Shots to the chest

Age at time of Death: 25 years old

Burial Place: Rockton Township Cemetery, Rockton, Illinois
 
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During the Chancellorsville Campaign he served on Stoneman's Raid and while retreating he managed to save the horse artillery's ammunition chests by floating them over a river.Just before the Gettysburg Campaign , on June 28, 1863. Lincoln nominated him for brigadier and he was given command of the 1st brigade, 3rd Division of the Cavalry Corps. At Gettysburg he was ordered to make a cavalry charge against the Confederate right flank on June 3rd. He questioned his division commander, General Kilpatrick, about the wisdom of a cavalry charge against infantry behind a stone wall. He did however make the doomed charge with the 1st West Virginia Cavalry.
 
He questioned his division commander, General Kilpatrick, about the wisdom of a cavalry charge against infantry behind a stone wall. He did however make the doomed charge with the 1st West Virginia Cavalry.

That sorry episode is one of the more outrageous examples of men being sent to their slaughter by reckless commanders. Farnsworth was a promising young officer who knew that the chances of a successful charge against the Confederate flank were practically nil, yet he obeyed the order of General Kilpatrick (aka Kill Cavalry) nevertheless.
 
It is stated in a bio that when Farnsworth questioned Kilpatrick's order, He had his own bravery challenged by Kilpatrick, I would have loved to have been a "fly on the wall" when that exchange happened. I'm pretty sure some of the details are lost to history.

I read that story as well. Questioning anybody's bravery in those days was a sure fire way to arouse major outrage. But in Farnsworth's case, my inclination is that Kilpatrick was trying to simply provoke Farnsworth; Kilpatrick surely had to know that Farnsworth's bravery and courage was undisputed.
 
An interesting story involving Captain Farnsworth. It came to the attention of Captain Farnsworth on Febuary 9, 1862 while attending services at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Alexandria, Virginia that the interim preacher , Reverend J.B.Stewart, (Dr.K. J. Stewart?)had omitted a prayer for Lincoln.The congregation overwhelmingly supported the Confederacy. The prayer was a required prayer for the U.S. President. Stewart refused and Farnsworth (with 6 armed men) had him arrested. Stewart was held in the guard house of the 8th Illinois Cavalry. Stewart was released but not allowed to officiate at services and the church closed and used as a hospital for the duration of the war.Even the lecture hall was later used as a hospital. A statement of charges to restore the church to it's former condition was presented to the U. S. Government after the war but they were not reimbursed until 1912.
 
Here's the Find a Grave page. He's buried in Rockton, Illinois, which is not far from the Wisconsin line and a little ways west of I-39. @Kathy the history sleuth , based on other cemeteries you've mentioned visiting, this might not be too far for you if you haven't already been.


Some of you might enjoy this article about cemetery preservation in Rockton.

 
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