Wellwood C. Gillespie was born around 1838 in Binghampton, New York, to Thomas and Elizabeth Gillespie. His father was a Scottish-born merchant who owned $5,000 of real estate by 1850. He grew up and attended school in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, and residents there remembered him as a “bright and active youth.”

 

He enlisted in the Union army in 1861 and mustered in as a corporal in Battery G of the 1^st Pennsylvania Light Artillery. According to his service records, he was 5 feet, 8 ½ inches tall, with black hair and gray eyes. A local writer declared that he was “enthusiastically devoted to the service.” The regiment took part in the Seven Days’ Battles, the Second Battle of Bull Run, the Battle of Antietam, and the Battle of Fredericksburg. He eventually earned a promotion to 2^nd lieutenant. He “accidentally received an injury in the foot while in service,” and he suffered from temporary “lameness.” He mustered out on July 13, 1863.

 

He returned to the Union army in March 1864, mustering in as a private in Company G of the 8^th Pennsylvania Cavalry. The regiment took part in the Overland Campaign and the siege of Petersburg. He received a gunshot through the lungs in June 1864. The following month, he noted that his “wound is much better so I can walk on cruches.” Union officials transferred him to the 16^th Pennsylvania Infantry on July 24, 1865, and he mustered out on August 11, 1865.

 

He settled in Morris, Pennsylvania, after the war, and he married Emma Smith. They had at least five children: Margaret, born around 1868; Elizabeth, born around 1870; Emma, born around 1873; Edith, born around 1875; and W. W., born around 1878. He earned a living as a farmer and lumberman. He applied for a federal pension in December 1879 and eventually received one. By 1880, he was suffering from “weak lungs.” He died in Lloyd, Pennsylvania, on October 21, 1882.

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