Ellis Spear (15 October 1834 – 3 April 1917) was a Brigadier-General of the US Army during the American Civil War, known for his role in the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment.
Biography[]
Ellis Spear was born in Warren, Maine on 15 October 1834, growing up on his family's farm. He graduated from Bowdoin College in 1858 and worked as a teacher before forming Company G of the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment in 1862 during the American Civil War. Spear was commissioned as a Captain, but he later rose to the rank of Major and ended the war as a Brigadier-General. Spear was one of Joshua Chamberlain's trusted company commanders at the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg, and he also fought at Petersburg and Appomattox in 1865. After the war, he became US Commissioner of Patents, and he died in St. Petersburg, Florida in 1917 at the age of 82.