Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 2).djvu/353

Rh render of Vera Cruz, was promoted 1st lieutenant on 20 July, 1847. and after the war was stationed at Fort Laramie and in Texas and New Mexico, becoming a captain in July, 1854. In September, 1858, he distinguished himself in conflicts with the Navajoes in New Mexico. In the beginning of the civil war he took part in the actions at Spring- field and Wilson's Creek, Mo., was appointed colo- nel of the 2d Iowa cavalry in September, 1861, and on. 5 Nov., 1861, was promoted major in the regu- lar army. He afterward commanded a brigade of cavalry in the Army of the Tennessee, was engaged at the capture of Madrid, brevetted for gallantry at the capture of Island No. 10, and again for ser- vices at the siege of Corinth, and in a raid on the Mississippi and Ohio railroad in May, 1862. He was promoted to brigadier-general of volunteers in June, 1862, became chief of cavalry in the Army of Virginia in August, 1862, and was wounded at the second battle of Bull Run. He commanded the Department of the Northwest in the beginning of 1863, was placed in command of a division in the Army of the Potomac in the summer of that year, then in the Army of the Cumberland, and was en- gaged in re-enforcing Gen. Burnside, and com- manded in the action of Mossy Creek, Tenn. He was subsequently chief of cavalry in the Army of the Cumberland, and took part in the Atlanta campaign and in the pursuit of Gen. Hood. In 1865 he commanded a division of the 4th corps, and was in the battles around Nashville. For ser- vices at Nashville he received the brevets of major- general of volunteers and brigadier-general in the regular army. He was also brevetted major-gen- eral, U. S. army, for gallant and meritorious ser- vices during the war. He became lieutenant-colo- nel in August, 1866, colonel in April, 1878, and on 20 March, 1879, was retired at his own request.

ELLIOTT, John, clergyman, b. in Clinton, Conn., 24 Aug., 1768; d. in Madison, Conn., 17 Dec, 1824. He was graduated at Yale in 1786, and received the degree of D. D. there in 1822. He was pastor of the Congregational church in Madison, Conn., from 1791 till his death, and from 1812 till his death was a fellow of Yale. Eleven of his dis- courses, one of them an "election sermon," were printed, and he was also, with Samuel Johnson, Jr., of Guilford, Conn., author of the first American dictionary of the English language, which is now a great rarity (Sufiield, Conn., 1800). Mr. Johnson had published a small "School Dictionary" the previous vear.

ELLIOTT, Jonathan, publicist, b. near Car- lisle, England, in 1784 : d. in Washington, D. C, 12 March, 1846. He emigrated to New York about 1802 and became a printer, but in 1810 volun- teered to assist in the establishment of the inde- pendence of New Granada, and was in several en- gagements under Bolivar, in one of which he was severely wounded. He was taken prisoner at the surrender of Gen. Miranda in 1812, and suffered many hardships, but returned to the United States in 1813 and served in the U. S. army in the war of 1812-'5. In 1814 he made his home in Washington, and edited with ability, during thirteen years, the " Washington Gazette." He published " American Diplomatic Code" (Washington, 1827: new ed., 2 vols., 1834) ; " Debate on "the Adoption of the C'onstitution " (1827-30) ; " Funding System of the United States " : " Statistics of the United States " ; " The Comparative Tariffs " ; and " Sketches of the District of Columbia" (1830). He also edited the " Madison Papers " (1845).

ELLIOTT, Robert Brown, lawyer, b. in Boston, Mass., 11 Aug., 1842; d. in New Orleans, La., in 1884. He was of African descent. After study- ing in private schools, he entered High Holborn academy, London, England, in 1853, and subse- quently studied at Eton college, where he was graduated in 1859. He then studied law and prac- tised, afterward settling in South Carolina. He was a member of the State constitutional conven- tion in 1868, and from July of that year till Octo- ber, 1870, was a member of the legislature. In 1869 he was made assistant adjutant-general, which otfice he held till he was elected to congress as a republican, serving from 1871 to 1874, when he resigned, having been elected sheriff of his county. In 1875 he was again elected to the legislature, and was speaker of the lower house. He removed to New Orleans in 1877, became special agent for the treasury department, and then resumed law prac- tice. He delivered various lectures and addresses.

ELLIOTT, Samuel Mackenzie, oculist, b. in Inverness, Scotland, 9 April, 1811 ; d. in New Brighton, Staten Island, N. Y., 1 May, 1875. He was graduated at the College of surgeons in Glas- gow in 1828, pursued original investigations into the anatomy of the eye and the effects of climate on that organ, and in 1833 emigrated to the United States, and continued his medical studies in Cin- cinnati and Philadelphia. In 1835 he opened an office in New York city and devoted himself to the cure of eye diseases. Pie gained a high reputation in this specialty, but the medical profession con- sidered him an irregular practitioner, and accused him either of charlatanism or of unprofessional conduct in keeping his medical discoveries a secret. He accordingly obtained a diploma, after an ex- amination in the New York medical college, and in a course of lectures explained his methods of prac- tice. He exhibited eccentricities, but his scientific attainments and professional skill obtained recog- nition, and his amiable characteristics and generous charities gained him many friends. At the begin- ning of the civil war he was lieutenant-colonel of the 79th regiment of New York volunteers. During the first battle of Bull Run his horse was shot and fell upon him, so injuring his spine as to incapaci- tate liim for further active service. He afterward raised the Highland brigade, and at the close of the war was mustered out as brigadier-general. Bo continued to practise his profession until 1874, when he retired to his residence on Staten Island.

ELLIOTT, Stephen, naturalist, b. in Beaufort, S. C., 11 Nov., 1771; d. in Charleston, S. C., 28 March, 1830. His father settled in Beaufort, where he purchased land, and married a granddaughter of John Barnwell. He was graduated at Yale in 1791, devoted himself to the cultivation of his estate and to literary and scientific studies, and in 1793 was elected to the legislature of South Carolina, of which he continued to be a member until the establishment of the Bank of the state in 1812, of which he was chosen president. He retained this office till his death. His leisure was devoted to literature and science, and he cultivated the study of botany with enthusiasm. In 1813 he was instrumental in founding the Literary and philosophical society of South Carolina, of which he was president. He lectured gratuitously on his favorite science, and was for some time editor of the &ldquo;Southern Review.&rdquo; In 1825 he aided in establishing the Medical college of the state, and was elected professor of natural history and botany. He was the author of &ldquo;The Botany of South Carolina and Georgia&rdquo; (Charleston, 1821-'4), in the preparation of which he was assisted by Dr. James McBride, and left several works in manuscript. His collection in natural history was one of the