Page:Dictionary of National Biography. Sup. Vol II (1901).djvu/195

 Sierra Leone protectorate, and captured Tambi. Almost immediately afterwards he was called to the Gambia to undertake the operations which ended in the taking of Toniataba: for the conduct of these he received the C.B. (9 Aug. 1892) and the West African medal with special clasp. At the end of 1893 he was called upon to conduct the expedition against the Sofas, in the course of which occurred the unfortunate incident at Waima, when two British officers were shot by the French in error. On returning from this expedition he was struck down by fever, and on 16 Feb. went to Teneriffe to recruit, but died there on 5 March 1894. In a gazette of 17 July 1894 the secretary of state for war announced that he would, if he had lived, have been recommended for K.C.B.

Ellis married, on 5 June 1871, Emma, daughter of Philip King, and left four children.

Ellis did much literary work, and his studies of the natives have high merit. His works (all published in London) are: 1. ‘West African Sketches,’ 1881. 2. ‘The Land of Fetish,’ 1883. 3. ‘A History of the West India Regiment,’ 1885. 4. ‘West African Islands,’ 1885. 5. ‘South African Sketches,’ 1887. 6. ‘The Tshi-speaking Peoples of the Gold Coast of West Africa,’ 1887. 7. ‘The Ewe-speaking Peoples of the Slave Coast,’ 1890. 8. ‘A History of the Gold Coast,’ 1893. 9. ‘The Yoruba-speaking People of the Slave Coast of West Africa,’ 1894.

 ELPHINSTONE, HOWARD CRAWFURD (1829–1890), major-general, royal engineers, comptroller of the Duke of Connaught's household, fourth son of Captain Alexander Francis Elphinstone, royal navy, a noble in Livonia, and of his wife, a daughter of A. Lobach of Cumenhoff, near Riga, was born on 12 Dec. 1829 at Wattram in Livonia. His family were Scottish, and his great-grandfather, Captain John Elphinstone, royal navy, and admiral in the Russian navy, commanded the Russian fleet in 1770 in the victory over the Turks at the naval battle of Tchesmé Bay. He was named Howard after his uncle, Major-general [q. v.] Educated chiefly abroad, he passed out of the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich at the head of his batch, and received a commission in the royal engineers as second-lieutenant on 18 Dec. 1847. His further commissions were dated: lieutenant 11 Nov. 1851, second captain 20 April 1856, brevet major 26 Dec. 1856, first captain 1 April 1862, brevet lieutenant-colonel 9 April 1868, major 5 July 1872, lieutenant-colonel 23 May 1873, brevet colonel 1 Oct. 1877, colonel 3 May 1884, and major-general 29 Jan. 1887.

After the usual course of professional study at Chatham, Elphinstone officially attended military reviews in Prussia in the summer of 1853, and afterwards was employed in the ordnance survey in Scotland until March 1854, when he went to Malta, and thence to Bulgaria and on to the Crimea. He arrived at Balaclava on 29 Sept., and was posted to the right attack under Major (afterwards Major-general Sir) [q. v.], where he served in the trenches, his record being eighty-one days and ninety-one nights on trench duty. In the summer of 1855 he was attached to Sir Colin Campbell's division employed in strengthening the Balaclava lines, and Avon the confidence and lasting friendship of his chief (afterwards Lord Clyde).

Elphinstone rendered conspicuous services at the assault of the quarries in front of the Redan on 7 June 1855, and again at the assault of the Redan on the 18th. He was awarded the Victoria Cross on 2 June 1858 for fearless conduct on the night of the unsuccessful attack on the Redan. At the final assault on Sebastopol on 8 Sept. he was wounded by a splinter on the left side of the head and lost an eye. For his Crimean services he was twice mentioned in despatches (London Gazette, 21 June and 21 Dec. 1855), and received a brevet majority, the war medal with clasp, the French legion of honour (fifth class), the Turkish order of the Mejidie (fifth class), the Turkish war medal, and a pension for his wound.

After his return to England from the Crimea, Elphinstone went in March 1856 on a mission to The Hague, and reported on a public hospital at Rotterdam, and in September to the Coblentz siege operations, his report on which was much commended. He was employed from 5 Sept. 1857 in the topographical department of the war office in compiling part i. of the siege of Sebastopol, published in 1858, a large quarto volume of the 'Journal of the Operations conducted by the Corps of Royal Engineers from the Invasion of the Crimea to the Close of the Winter Campaign, 1854-5.' He afterwards did duty in the North British military district.

On 24 Jan. 1859 he was selected by the prince consort to be governor to Prince