Editing George Henry Ellis

{{short description|Biography - George Henry Ellis}}
[[File:Chief Yeoman Ellis on USS Brooklyn (LoC) (crop).png|thumb|right|Chief Yeoman George H. Ellis in dress uniform aboard ''USS Brooklyn'' shortly before his death on 3 July 1898]]
'''George Henry Ellis''' (26 October 1875 – 3 July 1898)<ref name=shipsdata/> was a sailor in the [[United States Navy]] during the [[Spanish–American War]]. He was the only US sailor killed in action during the [[Battle of Santiago de Cuba]].

== Early life and career ==
Ellis was born in [[Peoria, Illinois]]. At an early age he and his mother moved to [[New York City]], and later to [[Brooklyn]], New York. He enlisted in the Navy on 26 February 1892 as apprentice, third class. On 25 October 1896 he was honorably discharged with a rate of apprentice, first class.  Ellis re-enlisted on 3 May 1897 as a seaman, and was later assigned to the {{USS|Dolphin|PG-24|6}} as a Yeoman 1st Class. He was transferred to the armored cruiser {{USS|Brooklyn|CA-3|6}}, and was promoted to Chief Yeoman on 1 February 1898.<ref name=McSherryEllisIA/> Aboard the ''Brooklyn'', Ellis served as [[Francis A. Cook|Captain Francis Cook's]] clerk.<ref name=1899_Cook/>

== Battle of Santiago de Cuba ==

Ellis was killed 3 July 1898 while serving on the ''Brooklyn'' during the [[Battle of Santiago de Cuba]]. That day Ellis reported to his battle station on the [[forecastle]] to operate the [[stadimeter]], a range-finding device for the naval guns. Chief Yeoman Ellis was considered an expert with the device.<ref name=1899_Cook/><ref name=1910_ParkerIA/> Ellis' target ranges were relayed by messenger to the gun crews. It was reported later that Ellis would stand on the ''foc's'le'' with a watch in one hand and the stadimeter in the other. He was completely exposed to enemy shell fire, as the observer's position was unprotected.<ref name=McSherryEllisIA/> As the ''Brooklyn'' was [[Winfield Scott Schley|Commodore Winfield Scott Schley's]] flagship of his [[Flying Squadron (United States Navy)|''Flying Squadron'']], it came under heavy fire from Spanish ships during the battle. The ''Brooklyn'' was struck twenty times.<ref name=McSherryBrooklynIA/><ref name=1899_Cook/>

[[File:Schley and Ellis on USS Brooklyn.png|thumb|left|Commodore Winfield Scott Schley and Chief Yeoman George H. Ellis on the ''USS Brooklyn'' shortly before Ellis' death]]
As the ''Brooklyn'' was pursuing the [[Spanish cruiser Vizcaya|''Vizcaya'']] and [[Spanish cruiser Cristóbal Colón|''Cristóbal Colón'']], Ellis was monitoring the distance between the ''Brooklyn'' and the fleeing Spanish ships, and returning to Schley in person to report the distance. Schley thought the Spanish ships were gaining, so he ordered Ellis to take another range. As Ellis returned once again to the forward turret to find the range, a shell hit him in the face and decapitated him.<ref name=McSherryEllisIA/><ref name=1899_Cook/> Schley was standing about 8–10 feet (2–3 m) behind Ellis. Blood was spraying everywhere. Following standard procedure, Ensign McCauley and Doctor Du Valin were preparing to toss the body overboard, when Commodore Schley shouted "No! Do not throw that body overboard!"<ref name=1910_ParkerIA/> Ellis' body was covered with a blanket and placed behind the turret. After the battle, Ellis was laid to rest at Camp McCalla, beside the marines who had fallen at the [[Battle of Guantánamo Bay]]. Chief Yeoman George Ellis was the only KIA (Killed In Action) of the Battle of Santiago de Cuba.<ref name=McSherryEllisIA/>
[[File:USS Brooklyn - Forward turret and bridge (LoC) (crop).png|thumb|right|''USS Brooklyn'' - Forward turret and bridge area of the forecastle where Ellis was killed (1898)]]

During October, a memorial service was held at Washington Avenue Baptist Church in Brooklyn. The church was filled to capacity with 2,000 mourners, and thousands more were turned away. Speakers at the service included [[John Woodward Philip|Commodore Jack Philip]] of the {{USS|Texas|BB-35|6}}, Captain Cook of the ''Brooklyn'', New York Lieutenant Governor [[Timothy L. Woodruff|Timothy Woodruff]], and former mayor Charles Schieren. A telegram of condolence from Secretary of the Navy [[John Davis Long|John Long]] was read.<ref name=McSherryEllisIA/>

Soon after the battle, the officers and men of the ''Brooklyn'' started a collection to benefit Ellis's widow, Sadie, and their seven-month old infant.<ref name=PrudentialAd/> By September 1898, $2000 had been raised. In January 1899, Sadie began receiving a pension from the US government.<ref name=McSherryEllisIA/>

Ellis was later re-buried at [[Cemetery of the Evergreens]] in Brooklyn, New York, on 28 November 1898.<ref name=McSherryEllisIA/>

== Legacy ==
[[File:USSEllisDD154.jpg|thumb|left|''USS Ellis'' at anchor in Guantánamo Bay in January 1920]]
George Ellis was a prominent character in a fictional account of the battle published in 1899, ''Fighting in Cuban waters, or under Schley on the Brooklyn'' by [[Edward Stratemeyer]] and A. B.Shute.<ref name=1899_Stratemeyer/>

In 1908, the death of Ellis and the destruction of his stadimeter were cited in an article in the [[United States Naval Institute]] Proceedings. The article addressed the impracticality of using observers aloft or in an exposed position on deck to determine range to targets during an actual battle. The proposed improvement was to install the [[range-finder]] in an armored installation on each gun turret.<ref name=NIP/>

The destroyer [[USS Ellis (DD-154)|USS ''Ellis'' (DD-154)]] was named in his honor. Launched on 30 November 1918 and commissioned on 7 June 1919, ''Ellis''' maiden voyage was to the Black Sea. She transported [[United States Food Administration|US Food Administration]] officials for famine relief work. During 1920, she participated in exercises along the US East Coast and in the [[Caribbean Sea]]. In January 1920, she was anchored in [[Guantánamo Bay]], about 10 miles (16&nbsp;km) from the locale of the Battle of Santiago de Cuba.<ref name=DANFS_Ellis/>

==References==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name=shipsdata>{{cite journal |year=1920 |title=Ships' Data, US Naval Vessels |journal=Ships' Data, United States Naval Vessels |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3073525&view=1up&seq=395 |url-status=dead |location=Washington |publisher=Government Printing Office |page=395 |hdl=2027/uc1.b3073525 |access-date=15 January 2021 |archive-date=23 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123022433/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3073525&view=1up&seq=395 }}</ref>
<ref name=McSherryEllisIA>{{cite web |url=https://www.spanamwar.com/ellis.html |title=Chief Yeoman George Ellis |last=McSherry |first=Patrick |website=The Spanish American War Centennial Website |access-date=14 January 2021 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119092920/https://www.spanamwar.com/ellis.html |archive-date=19 November 2020}}</ref>
<ref name=McSherryBrooklynIA>{{cite web |url=https://www.spanamwar.com/brooklyn.htm |title=Armored Cruiser Brooklyn |last=McSherry |first=Patrick |website=The Spanish American War Centennial Website |access-date=14 January 2021 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929181446/https://www.spanamwar.com/brooklyn.htm |archive-date=29 September 2020}}</ref>
<ref name=1910_ParkerIA>{{cite book |last1=Parker |first1=James |year=1910 |chapter=Chap XLIX Tragic Death of Yeoman George H Ellis |title=Rear-Admirals Schley, Sampson and Cervera: a review of the naval campaign of 1898, in pursuit and destruction of the Spanish fleet commanded by Rear-Admiral Pascual Cervera |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/adh2564.0001.001.umich.edu/page/192/mode/1up |location=New York; Washington |publisher=The Neale Publishing Company |pages=192–93 |access-date=14 January 2021}}</ref>
<ref name=PrudentialAd>{{cite magazine |orig-year=July–December 1898 |title=The Prudential (advertisement) |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049421517&view=1up&seq=367 |url-status=dead |magazine=Life |location=New York |publisher=Life Magazine, Incorporated |volume=32 |page=367 |hdl=2027/mdp.39015049421517 |access-date=14 January 2021 |archive-date=23 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123032452/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049421517&view=1up&seq=367 }}</ref>
<ref name=1899_Stratemeyer>{{cite book |last1=Stratemeyer |first1=Edward |last2=Shute |first2=A.B. |title=Fighting in Cuban waters, or under Schley on the Brooklyn |year=1899 |publisher=Lee and Shepard Publishers |location=Boston}}</ref>
<ref name=NIP>{{cite book |last1=Fiske, Captain, US Navy |first1=Bradley A. |year=1908 |chapter=Courage and Prudence |title=Naval Institute Proceedings |volume=34 |issue=1–2 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/proceedingsofuni34unituoft/page/300/mode/1up |publisher=US Naval Institute |pages=278–307|access-date=15 January 2021}}</ref>
<ref name=1899_Cook>{{cite magazine |last1=Cook |first1=Francis A. |orig-year=May–October 1899 |title=The 'Brooklyn' at Santiago |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112001985818&view=1up&seq=115 |url-status= |magazine=The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine |location=New York |publisher=Century Company |volume=58 |pages=95–102 |hdl=2027/uiug.30112001985818 |access-date=14 January 2021}}{{deadlink|date=September 2023}}</ref>
<ref name=DANFS_Ellis>{{cite web |url=http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/destroy/dd154txt.htm |title=DD-154 |last= |first= |website= |access-date=15 January 2021 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231210258/http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/destroy/dd154txt.htm |archive-date=31 December 2019}}</ref>
}}

== External links ==
{{DANFS}}
* {{cite web |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/publications/documentary-histories/united-states-navy-s/the-battle-of-santia/secretary-of-the-nav-1.html |title=Secretary of the Navy John D. Long to Mrs. George H. Ellis, 7/5/1898 |website=Naval History and Heritage Command |access-date=14 January 2021}}
::text of telegram sent to Mrs George H Ellis by the Secretary of Navy

{{Wikisource|1=Fighting in Cuban Waters|2=Fighting in Cuban Waters}}
{{Portal|Biography}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, George Henry}}
[[Category:1875 births]]
[[Category:1898 deaths]]
[[Category:American military personnel killed in the Spanish–American War]]
[[Category:People from Peoria, Illinois]]
[[Category:United States Navy sailors]]