William Wells

William W. Wells Jr. (December 14, 1837 – April 29, 1892) was a businessman, politician, and general in the Union Army during the American Civil War and a Medal of Honor recipient for his gallantry in the Battle of Gettysburg.

Early life and education Wells was born in Waterbury, Vermont, the third of ten children (nine boys) of William and Eliza Wells. He began his education in the common schools of his native town and mastered the higher branches in Barre Academy and Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, New Hampshire. While in Barre, at the age of 17, he used an odometer in surveying for a county map of Caledonia County, a task which occupied him for two months. From age 19 until the spring of 1861, he was his father's assistant in his extensive business.

Civil War Statue of Wells by J. Otto Schweizer at the Gettysburg Battlefield Statue of Wells in Battery Park in Burlington, Vermont. An identical statue can be found in Gettysburg National Park.

At the outbreak of the American Civil War, Wells and three of his brothers joined the Union Army. Wells enlisted as a private soldier on September 9, 1861, and assisted in raising Company C of the 1st Vermont Cavalry. He was sworn into Federal service on October 3, 1861, and was soon promoted first lieutenant and then captain in November of that year. He was in the thickest of the fight at Orange Court House, Virginia, August 2, 1862, and was promoted to major on October 30, 1862.