Today in Wheeling History: June 6—Charles Ellet Jr., civil engineer who designed and built the Wheeling Suspension Bridge, led the United States Ram Fleet to victory at the First Battle of Memphis during the American Civil War and was wounded in the battle, later dying from his injuries (1862).
Charles Ellet Jr. was born on January 1, 1810, in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. A brilliant civil engineer, he studied at the École nationale des Ponts et Chaussées in Paris, where he honed his expertise in suspension bridge design. His most famous achievement was the Wheeling Suspension Bridge, completed in 1849, which was the longest single-span suspension bridge in the world at the time.
Ellet’s engineering career extended beyond bridges—he conducted the first federal survey of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers and published influential works on flood control, transportation, and economic theory. His innovative ideas led him to propose the use of steam-powered rams in naval warfare.
During the American Civil War, Ellet was commissioned as a colonel and placed in charge of the United States Ram Fleet, a group of converted steamboats designed for combat. His fleet played a decisive role in the First Battle of Memphis on June 6, 1862, where Union forces secured a major victory. However, Ellet was wounded in the battle and succumbed to his injuries on June 21, 1862, in Cairo, Illinois. He was buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV (https://tinyurl.com/mr2zsjwm); Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/ycnwcadn) (https://tinyurl.com/yuvduwvx), Find a Grave (https://tinyurl.com/wtensred)
Photo credits: Wikimedia Commons, Find a Grave
Charles Ellet Jr. was born on January 1, 1810, in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. A brilliant civil engineer, he studied at the École nationale des Ponts et Chaussées in Paris, where he honed his expertise in suspension bridge design. His most famous achievement was the Wheeling Suspension Bridge, completed in 1849, which was the longest single-span suspension bridge in the world at the time.
Ellet’s engineering career extended beyond bridges—he conducted the first federal survey of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers and published influential works on flood control, transportation, and economic theory. His innovative ideas led him to propose the use of steam-powered rams in naval warfare.
During the American Civil War, Ellet was commissioned as a colonel and placed in charge of the United States Ram Fleet, a group of converted steamboats designed for combat. His fleet played a decisive role in the First Battle of Memphis on June 6, 1862, where Union forces secured a major victory. However, Ellet was wounded in the battle and succumbed to his injuries on June 21, 1862, in Cairo, Illinois. He was buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV (https://tinyurl.com/mr2zsjwm); Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/ycnwcadn) (https://tinyurl.com/yuvduwvx), Find a Grave (https://tinyurl.com/wtensred)
Photo credits: Wikimedia Commons, Find a Grave
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