Ezekiel John Ellis (October 15, 1840 – April 25, 1889) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. He fought in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

for the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United State ...

from 1861–1863; during the war he was promoted to the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. After the war, Ellis entered politics and was elected to the Louisiana State Senate from 1866-1870, then served in Congress from 1875-1885.

Early life and military career

Born in Covington, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, son of Ezekiel Parke Ellis and Tabitha Emily Warner, Ellis attended private schools in Covington and Clinton, Louisiana, and

Centenary College of Louisiana Centenary College of Louisiana is a private liberal arts college in Shreveport, Louisiana. The college is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Founded in 1825, it is the oldest chartered liberal arts college west of the Mississippi Rive ...

(when it was located in

Jackson, Louisiana Jackson is a town in East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 3,842 at the 2010 U.S. census, down from 4,130 in 2000; the 2020 population estimates program determined Jackson had a population of 3,707. It is part of ...

) from 1855 to 1858. In 1861 he graduated from the law department of the

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

at Pineville (now at Baton Rouge), Louisiana. During the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

he joined the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

and was commissioned a first lieutenant. Ellis was promoted to captain in the Sixteenth Regiment, Louisiana Infantry, and served two years until he was captured at the

Battle of Missionary Ridge The Battle of Missionary Ridge, also known as the Battle of Chattanooga, was fought on November 25, 1863, as part of the Chattanooga campaign of the American Civil War. Following the Union Army, Union victory in the Battle of Lookout Mountain on ...

, Tennessee, about November 25, 1863. He was held as a prisoner of war on Johnson's Island in Lake Erie until the end of the war. While a prisoner, he wrote a diary entitled ''A Retrospect''.

Political career and later life

He was admitted to the bar of Louisiana in 1866 and commenced practice in

Covington, Louisiana Covington is a city in and the parish seat of St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 11,564 at the 2020 United States census. It is located at a fork of the Bogue Falaya and the Tchefuncte River. Covington is part ...

. He served as member of the State senate 1866-1870. Ellis was elected from

Louisiana's 2nd congressional district Louisiana's 2nd congressional district contains nearly all of the city of New Orleans and stretches west and north to Baton Rouge. The district is currently represented by Democrat Troy Carter. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index rating of D+17 ...

as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to the Forty-fourth and to the four succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1885). He served as chairman of the Committee on Mississippi Levees (Forty-fourth Congress) but declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1884. He resumed the practice of his profession in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

He died there April 25, 1889 and was interred in the Ellis family cemetery at "Ingleside," near Amite,

Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana Tangipahoa Parish () is a parish located on the southeastern border of the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 133,157. The parish seat is Amite City, while the largest city is Hammond. Southeastern Louisiana ...

Notes

References

Retrieved on 2009-04-10

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Ezekiel John 1840 births 1889 deaths People from Covington, Louisiana Confederate States Army officers Centenary College of Louisiana alumni Louisiana lawyers People from Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives