William Wells

William W. Wells Jr. was born in Waterbury, Vermont, on December 14, 1837. After the outbreak of the American Civil War, he joined the federal military and was given a commission in the Union Army, where he was assigned to the 1st Vermont Cavalry.

Wells established a combat record marked by bold mounted operations in the Eastern Theater. He commanded the 2nd Battalion of the 1st Vermont Cavalry during the Gettysburg Campaign and fought Confederate Major General J.E.B. Stuart at the Battle of Hanover. A few days later, on July 3, 1863, at the Battle of Gettysburg, Wells's battalion occupied a position close to Big Round Top. In the late afternoon, Union cavalry commander Brigadier General Judson Kilpatrick directed a mounted attack across very disadvantageous, rocky ground against the entrenched Confederate infantry of Brigadier General Evander M. Law's brigade. Riding beside Brigadier General Elon J. Farnsworth, Wells led his men in a quick assault over the rocks and through thick woodland, thus breaking through the Confederate rear. The attack caused heavy losses among the Union forces, including the death of Farnsworth, but Wells escaped unharmed from the action.

He gained considerable combat experience during the rest of the war. While taking part in the cavalry action at the Battle of Boonsboro in Maryland, a saber cut Wells. At Culpeper Court House in Virginia on September 13, 1863, he led an attack on Confederate artillery, captured an enemy gun, and was hit by a shell. He was promoted to colonel on June 4, 1864, and later commanded the 3rd Cavalry Division on several occasions. He also led a brigade in Major General George A. Custer's division at the Battle of Tom's Brook on October 9, 1864, and at the Battle of Namozine Church on April 3, 1865.

He ended his service in the war by taking command of the 2nd Brigade in Custer's division at the Grand Review of the Armies in Washington, D.C., on May 22, 1865; after having taken part in seventy cavalry engagements, he was discharged from the army on January 15, 1866, and later was granted the brevet rank of major general. Since he had shown great bravery at Gettysburg, Wells was awarded the Medal of Honor on September 8, 1891, the full official citation for his award being:

"Led the second battalion of his regiment in a daring charge."

After the war, Wells returned to Vermont, where he pursued a business career and entered politics in Burlington. He died in Manhattan, New York, on 29 April 1892 and was buried at the Lakeview Cemetery in Burlington.