Civil War Medal of Honor Recipient. With the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted in the Union Army and was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in the 2nd Massachusetts Infantry. Rising to the rank of Captain, he was in command of Company B, 55th Massachusetts Colored Infantry, Union Army. On November 30, 1864, in actions with Confederate forces at Honey Hill, South Carolina, Captain Ellsworth went out in front of his command when he saw his commanding officer Colonel A.S. Hartwell had fallen injured trapped under his horse at the battle line. Under heavy enemy fire, he carried his wounded officer off the field preventing him from being captured and saving his life. For gallant and meritorious conduct, he was awarded the Medal of Honor on November 18, 1895. After the war, he worked as an officer of the Boston Custom House, before moving in the 1890s, to Pasadena, California, where he ran a contracting business with his son.
Civil War Medal of Honor Recipient. With the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted in the Union Army and was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in the 2nd Massachusetts Infantry. Rising to the rank of Captain, he was in command of Company B, 55th Massachusetts Colored Infantry, Union Army. On November 30, 1864, in actions with Confederate forces at Honey Hill, South Carolina, Captain Ellsworth went out in front of his command when he saw his commanding officer Colonel A.S. Hartwell had fallen injured trapped under his horse at the battle line. Under heavy enemy fire, he carried his wounded officer off the field preventing him from being captured and saving his life. For gallant and meritorious conduct, he was awarded the Medal of Honor on November 18, 1895. After the war, he worked as an officer of the Boston Custom House, before moving in the 1890s, to Pasadena, California, where he ran a contracting business with his son.
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
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