Washington Lafayette Elliott (March 31, 1825 – June 29, 1888) was a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He led a division of IV Corps at the Battle of Nashville in 1864. In 1866, he was awarded the honorary grade of brevet major general, U.S. Army. Early life and career Elliott was born on March 31, 1825, at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in the United States. He was a son of U.S. Navy Commodore Jesse Elliott. Washington accompanied his father on some voyages. After attending Dickinson College, he entered the United States Military Academy on July 1, 1841. He left in 1844 to study medicine, but was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1846 for the Mexican–American War. He fell ill during the Siege of Veracruz and spent the rest of the war on recruiting duty. He remained in the army as a first lieutenant (1847), serving as a quartermaster. Elliott was promoted to the rank of captain in 1854. In 1858, Elliott married Valeria Biddle Blaney (1828–1900), a collector of scientific natural history specimens who was a first cousin of Spencer Fullerton Baird of the Smithsonian Institution. Baird and Girard named a species of snake after her, Virginia valeriae, after she collected the type specimen of the species. Civil War service After the outbreak of the American Civil War, Elliott served in Missouri, fighting at the Battle of Wilson's Creek. He was promoted to major of the 3rd U.S. Cavalry on August 3, 1861. Commissioned colonel of the 2nd Iowa Cavalry on September 14, 1861, Elliott served under Maj. Gen. John Pope in the Battle of Island Number Ten. He led a brigade in the Siege of Corinth. Elliott became a brigadier general on June 11, 1862, after leading a raid on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad. Elliott served on Maj. Gen. John Pope's staff in the Army of the Mississippi. Elliott transferred east with Pope and served as chief of cavalry in the Army of Virginia. He was wounded at the Second Battle of Bull Run on August 30, 1862. He served for a time in the Department of the Northwest, as commander of the District of Wisconsin and commander of the department, before returning east in 1863. During the first half of 1863, Elliott was a brigade commander in the Middle Department, and led a brigade during the Second Battle of Winchester in mid-June. Then,