b. 16/08/1842 Mina, New York. d. 02/07/1898 Findlay Lake, New York.
DATE OF MOH ACTION: 29/09/1864 Chapin’s Farm, Virginia.
Ebenezer Skellie MOH
Born on August 16, 1842, in Mina, New York, near Findley Lake, Ebenezer Skellie was a son of New York native James Skellie (c. 1799 to 1853), a farmer and early settler of Chautauqua County, New York, and Jannett (Doig) Skellie (1806–1877), a native of East Greenwich, New York. In 1850, he resided in Mina with his parents and siblings: Sarah, Jane, Robert, Mary, James A., and Hannah (born respectively c. 1828, 1829, 1831,1836, 1837, and 1841).
He was 19-year-old when the Fort Sumter fell to the Confederate Army troops at the dawn of the American Civil War in mid-April 1861, Ebenezer Skellie continued to work on his family’s farm and support his mother during the war’s first year. Just over a year later, in response to calls from President Abraham Lincoln and the Governor of New York for additional volunteers to help preserve America’s Union, Skellie enlisted for a three-year term of military service. Enrolling at Mina on August 9, 1862, he then officially mustered in for duty on August 15, at Camp Brown outside of Jamestown as a private with Company D of the 112th New York Volunteer Infantry.
On September 29, 1864, Skellie joined his regiment’s list of casualties when he was seriously wounded in action during the Battle of Chaffin’s Farm. After sustaining two gunshot wounds to the back and one to his leg, he was carried from the field of battle in a blanket to a field hospital nearby, where his injured leg was amputated.[29] Subsequently transferred to the Central Park Hospital in New York City, he was recommended for promotion by brevet to second lieutenant while he was convalescing. Finally released from the hospital on June 24, 1865, he was then honorably discharged three days later.
Returning home to Chautauqua County following his release from the hospital and honorable discharge from the military, Ebenezer Skellie resumed his life on the family farm in Mina, where he resided alone with his mother.
Married to Pennsylvania native Sarah J. Pullman (1845–1924) by the Rev. W. L. Hyde on October 11, 1865, he and his wife greeted the births of two daughters: Lettie (1866–1867), who died in early childhood and was laid to rest at the Mina Cemetery; and Minnie (1868–1894), who was born on November 7, 1868, and went on to marry H. Reed Weaver. By 1870, Ebenezer Skellie was residing with his wife and surviving daughter in Mina, where he was a successful farmer with real estate and personal property valued at $6,400. In 1875, the New York Census documented that the Skellie household was a two-income one with Sarah Skellie bringing in funds from her work as a seamstress to supplement what her husband earned as a farmer. He was also active politically during this time, serving as a member of Mina’s board of supervisors from 1878 to 1882.
In addition, he operated a lumber mill in Findley Lake, New York, but sold his principal site there to the Swartz family in 1892, according to historian Randy Boerst. Two years later, tragedy struck the family. In 1894, just five weeks after Ebenezer Skellie’s daughter, Minnie (Skellie) Weaver, fell ill, she succumbed to complications from her illness while staying with her parents at the lake. Four years after the death of his only child, Ebenezer Skellie also died. Reportedly, as he lay dying at his home at Findley Lake on July 2, 1898, his final words were: “I see Minnie. Move my chair down a little closer to the edge of the river, so I can step over.” He was then laid to rest at the same cemetery where his two children and parents were interred.
MOH CITATION:
Took the colors of his regiment, the color bearer having fallen, and carried them through the first charge; also, in the second charge, after all the color guards had been killed or wounded he carried the colors up to the enemy’s works, where he fell wounded.
BURIAL LOCATION: MINA CEMETERY, MINA, NEW YORK.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: UNKNOWN.
