Stephen Elliott Jr. was born on October 26, 1830, in Beaufort, South Carolina, to Stephen and Ann Elliott. His father was a planter and minister who owned $38,000 of real estate and $165,000 of personal property by 1860. His mother died in the early 1840s. He grew up in Beaufort before enrolling at Harvard University. He eventually transferred to South Carolina College, and he graduated in December 1850.

 

He married Charlotte Stuart around 1854, and they had at least three children: Stephen, born around 1856; Henry, born around 1858; and Charles, born around 1860. He worked as a planter in Saint Helena, South Carolina, and by 1860, he owned $15,000 of real estate and $35,000 of personal property.

 

In June 1861, he received a commission as a captain in Company A of the 11^th South Carolina Infantry. He was wounded in the leg in November 1861. In August 1862, he received an appointment as chief of artillery for South Carolina’s 3^rd military district. The following year, he was promoted to major and then to lieutenant colonel. He was wounded in the head in December 1863 during the Union bombardment of Charleston.

 

He was promoted to brigadier general in May 1864, and he took part in the defense of Petersburg, Virginia. He was severely wounded in the Battle of the Crater. He spent the next few months recovering, and by early 1865, he was serving in the Army of Tennessee. He took part in the Carolinas campaign, and he surrendered as part of the Army of Tennessee in April 1865.

 

He returned to South Carolina after the war, and he discovered that Union officials had confiscated his plantation and distributed the land to his former slaves. He applied for a pardon in August 1865. He insisted that he made the application “in entire good faith as I propose henceforward to bear full and true allegiance to the United States Government.” President Andrew Johnson granted the pardon in November 1865. He died in Aiken, South Carolina, on February 21, 1866.

 

Image: Stephen Elliott Jr. (courtesy Wikicommons)

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