Elon Farnsworth: A “What If?” of Gettysburg
154 years after the engagement ended, students and enthusiasts still debate the “what if?” questions related to the Battle of Gettysburg. What if Richard Ewell had captured Cemetery Hill on the first day? What if Meade had withdrawn from the field to the Pipe Creek line? What if the Confederates had captured Little Round Top on July 2? What if the Pickett-Pettigrew-Trimble charge had been successful? The list seemingly goes on and on. For myself, the greatest “what if?” does not pertain to any one decision or event, but to an individual, Brig. Gen. Elon J. Farnsworth.
Born and raised in Michigan, Farnsworth briefly moved to Illinois before returning to his native state to attend college at the age of seventeen. While at the University of Michigan, Farnsworth and several of his classmates were expelled after a drinking episode resulted in the death of a fellow student.
Possessed with an adventurous spirit, Farnsworth pushed west and joined the U.S. Army as a civilian forage master. He later served in Albert Sidney Johnston’s famed Mormon Battalion. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he returned to Illinois and joined the 8th Illinois Cavalry, a regiment raised by his uncle and prominent Republican, John Farnsworth. Elon was commissioned a First Lieutenant. By the end of 1861, he was promoted to Captain.
Despite his strong political connections, Farnsworth distinguished himself on the battlefield. Along with fellow captains George A. Custer and Wesley Merritt, Farnsworth was promoted to Brigadier General on June 28, 1863. He received command of a brigade in Brig. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick’s Third Division which consisted of the 1st Vermont, 1st West Virginia, 5th New York and 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry. Attached to the brigade was Lt. Samuel Elder’s Battery E, 4th U.S. Artillery.
Two days after his promotion, Farnsworth led his brigade in battle for the first time and distinguished himself at Hanover, Pennsylvania. On July 2, Farnsworth again handled his command well at the Battle of Hunterstown. That night, Kilpatrick’s division camped at the hamlet of Two Taverns, southeast of Gettysburg.
Early the next morning, Kilpatrick moved with Farnsworth to the Union left, eventually reaching a heavily wooded eminence adjacent to Big Round Top, Bushman’s Hill. While Elder unlimbered his guns, Kilpatrick anxiously waited for the moment to attack. The ground before him, however, was hardly conducive to mounted operations. Stone walls crisscrossed the rolling terrain, which was occupied by Maj. Gen. John Bell Hood’s division, now under the command of Evander Law. After he observed the enemy position, Maj. William Wells of the 1st Vermont remarked, “I would rather charge into Hell than in there.”
Kilpatrick’s opportunity for an offensive came following the repulse of the Confederate assault against Cemetery Ridge. He directed the 1st West Virginia to launch an attack against the 1st Texas Infantry along the J. Slyder farm lane. Surging ahead, the West Virginians slammed into the Texans. The steady musketry of the Texans forced them to eventually withdraw. Undeterred, Kilpatrick ordered the 18th Pennsylvania forward. Joined by elements from the 5th New York, the Union cavalryman fared no better than their comrades and their charge was turned back.
Despite his lack of success, Kilpatrick determined to try again and ordered Farnsworth to lead another assault, this time with the 1st Vermont. Farnsworth recognized the futility of additional efforts and a discussion begun earlier on the merits of Kilpatrick’s aggressive tactics soon escalated into a heated exchange. At some point during the argument, Kilpatrick challenged his young subordinate’s bravery. Disgusted, Farnsworth took his place Wells’ battalion for the charge.
Like the West Virginians, Farnsworth led the Vermont troopers toward the 1st Texas. Reinforced by the 9th Georgia, the Confederates poured volley after volley into the Union ranks. Still, the Federals continued on. “We charged over rocks, stone walls & fences” Wells wrote several days later. Reaching the Slyder farm lane, Farnsworth was joined by Col. Addison Preston’s battalion from the 1st Vermont, which had skirted the base of Big Round Top. Reaching a short rise, Farnsworth had his horse shot out from under him. As he obtained another mount, e decided to cut his way out from behind the Confederate line. Passing beyond the Slyder farm house, the Vermonters encountered the 4th and 15th Alabama. As he entered one of Mr. Slyder’s fields, Farnsworth was shot down. Without their brigade commander, the splintered battalions of the 1st Vermont did their best to escape and returned to the safety of Kilpatrick’s line.
Farnsworth’s body was recovered on July 4. He rests today in Rockton Township Cemetery in Illinois. Kilpatrick, whose foolhardy decision led to his death, eulogized Farnsworth in his official report. “In this battle the division lost many brave and gallant officers. Among the list will be found the name of Farnsworth; short but most glorious was his career-a general on June 29, on the 30th he baptized his star in blood, and on July 3, for the honor of his young brigade and the glory of his corps, he gave his life. At the head of his men, at the very muzzles of the enemy’s guns, he fell, with many mortal wounds. We can say of him in the language of another, “Good soldier, faithful friend, great heart, hail and farewell.”
Farnsworth’s story now leads to the aforementioned question. George Custer and Wesley Merritt eventually rose where he could not. Merritt ended the war at the head of the Army of Shenandoah. Custer was one of his division commanders. There is no question regarding Farnsworth’s courage and skills throughout his entire service. I wonder how far he could have gone or how his career would have progressed had he lived.
What if Kilpatrick had not questioned Farnsworth’s judgment? Kilpatrick should’ve apologized for his disrespectful treatment that lead to his this young mans early death?
In one of the accounts of their argument, Kilpatrick does back off from the comment. The damage, however, had already been done and was irreparable.
“Kill”-kipatrick was a dam fool who was responsible for hundreds of meaningless deaths, some people argue Sherman’s army was the best Union and some even say the best of all, but with “kill”-kipatrick as the head of his cavalry Sherman’s army was far from complete. I’m a letter to Grant Sherman states he knows Kilpatrick is a fool “but he has courage”…Yeah, the type of courage that needlessly kills rising stars like Farnsworth…Sorry big fan of March to the sea and Carolina battles Where UNFORTUNATELY Wade Hampton was 5 minutes late from taking Kilpatrick…Without being a political general to my knowledge I welcome any comments that explains how he was allowed to finish the war without being sacked…
Custer is usually the “hero” of this group, but Wesley Merritt is another soldier who deserves a lot more work. The man served as an army officer until 1900, ending his career as the First American Military Governor of the Phillippines. As colonel of the 5th Cavalry, Merritt was a member of the court of inquiry which first sat on January 13, 1879 presided over by Colonel John H. King of the 9th Infantry, which was convened to consider the behavior of Major Marcus A. Reno of the 7th Cavalry at the Battle of the Little Bighorn (June 25 to 26, 1876); which resulted in the death of General George Armstrong Custer and over 200 men of the 7th Cavalry.
Farnsworth was in good company. Thanks for this article.
Meg Groeling thank you for your submission to this article. it was extremely informative to me I had no idea who Reno was and after looking him up I found out not only was he in the 7th Cavalry of Custer but he actually lived. I’m ignorant of the Indian Wars out west but I was always told and I always red that everybody and Custer’s 7th Cavalry was killed and that there was no survivors. So to read about Reno was extremely interesting apparently he lived because he got drunk and ran up a bluff and then they built the only Memorial to a single person to him on the place where Custer and his Cavalry Regiment were wiped out. Unbelievable that guy must have had some big-time connections
Reno’s conduct has obviously been a matter of great debate since the battle. If you are interested, I would highly recommend Ron Nichols’ “In Custer’s Shadow: A Biography of Major Marcus A. Reno”. Mr. Nichols also published the Court of Inquiry transcript several years ago in its entirety.
Meg Groeling thank you for your submission to this article. it was extremely informative to me I had no idea who Reno was and after looking him up I found out not only was he in the 7th Cavalry of Custer but he actually lived. I’m ignorant of the Indian Wars out west but I was always told and I always red that everybody and Custer’s 7th Cavalry was killed and that there was no survivors. So to read about Reno was extremely interesting apparently he lived because he got drunk and ran up a bluff and then they built the only Memorial to a single person to him on the place where Custer and his Cavalry Regiment were wiped out. Unbelievable that guy must have had some big-time connections
Thank-you very much Daniel needless to say I have become very interested in this topic and I will definitely take you up on that book, my curiosity has been triggered
Thank You very much for this article. General Farnsworth is one our favorite Generals. We left flowers for him on The 1st Vermont Cavalry Monument this past weekend at Gettysburg. I and my husband , who is retired military, have never understood why the Union Army did not relieve General Kilpatrick of his command after ordering the attack. I remember reading in a book, that a confederate officer stated that the attack Kilpatrick ordered, was an ” Inexcusable Military Error”.
Kilpatrick goes on to wreak more havoc later in the Army. There is an excellent book about the Dalghren ( I think that is how his name was spelled) Affair, of which Kilpatrick plays a large role . We are very glad to see that a Brave, Young Soldier, General Farnsworth, has not been forgotten . We only wish that he could have lived, and gone on to his promising young career.
Thank you Margaret for reading. I always try to visit that end of the field where the charge took place on each of my trips to Gettysburg.