Major General William Wells,
1st Vermont Cavalry Regiment

The monument to Major General William Wells is south of Gettysburg on South Confederate Avenue. see map

From the tablet next to the monument:

William Wells, Brevet Major General U.S. Vols. 1837 - 1892. First Lieut. Co. C 1st Vermont Cavalry Oct. 14 1861. Captain Co. C Nov. 18 1861. Major Dec. 30 1862. Colonel July 2 1864. Brevet Brigadier General U.S. Vols. Feb. 22 1865. Brevet Major General U.S. Vols. "For gallant and meritorious services" March 13 1865. Brigadier General U.S. Vols. May 19 1865. Honorably mustered out Jan. 15 1866. Once wounded and once a prisoner. Awarded Medal of Honor for "most distinguished gallantry at Gettysburg" July 3 1863. Commander of Sheridan's Cavalry Corps.

The monument is part of a series of monuments and tablets to the First Vermont Cavalry, part of the Cavalry Corps - 3rd Division - 1st Brigade.

The statue was created by J. Otto Sweitzer, who used Well's actual clothing, boots, belt, and revolver as a model. It was so well received that friends ordered an exact copy which stands in Battery Park in Burlington, Vermont, Wells' home town.

The tablet represents the charge of four companies of the 1st Vermont Cavalry led by General Elon Farnsworth against Law's Alabama Brigade at the close of the battle on July 3rd. Union General Kilpatrick had ordered Farnsworth to make the charge and had questioned his bravery when Farnsworth protested. Farnsworth went on to lead the charge, which started from the area around the monument. When Farnsworth was mortally wounded. Wells took command of the survivors.

The tablet shows Farnsworth (at left) receiving his mortal wound, while Wells continues ahead, saber raised. The sculptor used photographs of the survivors to model the faces in the charge, and over twenty individuals can be identified in the tablet.

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