Alfred Washington Ellet (October 11, 1820 – January 9, 1895) was a brigadier general in the Union Army who commanded the United States Ram Fleet and the Mississippi Marine Brigade during the American Civil War. Early life and education Ellet was born at Penn's Manor in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He was the youngest of six sons and the second youngest of fourteen children. In 1824, his family moved to Philadelphia where he attended the public schools. At age 16, he moved to Bunker Hill, Illinois and worked in farming. A farmer and dry goods store owner, he was a resident of Illinois when the Civil War began. American civil war In July 1861, Ellet raised a company of men from Bunker Hill and was commissioned captain of company I of the 9th Missouri Volunteer Infantry Regiment, which later became the 59th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment. In March 1862, he fought in the Battle of Pea Ridge. When his elder brother, Col. Charles Ellet, Jr., created and took command of the United States Ram Fleet, a fleet of steam-powered rams, in the spring of 1862. Alfred became lieutenant colonel and second in command of the ram fleet. First battle of Memphis On June 6, Colonel Charles Ellet, Jr. led the rams in the Battle of Memphis as captain of with Alfred W. in command of the USS Monarch. The Ellets had not coordinated a plan of attack with Charles H. Davis, commander of the Mississippi River Squadron. When the flotilla approached Confederate forces, the two rams steamed ahead of Davis' gunboats. The Queen of the West rammed and sank the Confederate flagship . The Monarch rammed and disabled the CSS General Price and forced her to ground on the riverbank. Charles Ellet, Jr. was wounded in the knee by a Confederate sharpshooter during the battle. His wound was the only serious casualty received on the Union side during the battle. Charles Ellet, Jr. died 15 days later from a blood infection caused by the wound and Alfred took command of the unit. On June 26, Alfred W. Ellet commanded the Monarch and his nephew Charles Rivers Ellet commanded the Lancaster during action on the Yazoo River near Liverpool, Mississippi to capture or destroy three Confederate gunboats. The Confederates burned their ships; the CSS General Van Dorn, CSS General Polk and CSS Livingston, when they saw the Union forces approaching. Mississippi Marine