13 February 1884 Ellis was promoted major; in 1886 he was again in command of the troops on the Gold Coast. In 1889 he went with part of his regiment to the Bahamas, and remained in command of the troops there till he became lieutenant-colonel on 4 February 1891. He then returned to West Africa, and stationed at Freetown, Sierra Leone was placed in command of all the troops on the west coast; on 2 March 1892 he received the local rank of colonel in West Africa. For a short spell in May 1892 he administered the government of Sierra Leone in the absence of the governor. In June 1892 Ellis took a punitive expedition to the Tambaka country in the Sierra Leone protectorate (now on the border with Guinea), and captured Tambi. Directly afterwards he was called to the Gambia to undertake operations which ended in the taking of Toniataba, held by a supporter of Fodi Kabba, who ran a Marabout campaign in the area. The diplomatic context was an agreement with the French on pacification of the area. For his conduct Ellis received the C.B. (9 August 1892) and the West African medal with special clasp. At the end of 1893 Ellis was asked to conduct an expedition against the Malian Sofas fighting for Samori Ture. In its course occurred the armed clash at Waiima, Kono District, Sierra Leone when British and French forces fired on each other, causing fatalities. On returning from this expedition he was struck down by fever, and on 16 February went to Tenerife to recover; but died there on 5 March 1894. Works From 1871 to 1882 Ellis made use of opportunities to visit islands off the western coast of Africa. From 1882 onwards most of his spare time was spent on studies of African ethnology and language. His works, all published in London, were: West African Sketches, 1881. The Land of Fetish, 1883. A History of the West India Regiment, 1885. West African Islands, 1885. South African Sketches, 1887. The Tshi-speaking Peoples of the Gold Coast of West Africa, 1887. The Ewe-speaking Peoples of the Slave Coast, 1890. A History of the Gold Coast, 1893. The Yoruba-speaking People of the Slave Coast of West Africa, 1894. Family Ellis married, on 5 June 1871, Emma, daughter of Philip King, and left four children. References Citations Sources Attribution External links 1852 births 1894 deaths