Eleazer Wheelock Ripley, US General, Congressman

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Eleazer Wheelock Ripley Major General War of 1812
U. S. House of Representatives Louisiana 2nd District
Served	1835 - 1839
Political Party	Jacksonian, Democratic
Preceded by	Philemon Thomas
Succeeded by	Thomas Withers Chinn

Born Location	April 15, 1782 Hanover, New Hampshire
Died Location	March 29, 1839 West Feliciana Parish
Cause
Age	58

Education	Dartmouth College - 1800 Law
Profession	Soldier and Attorney

Spouse 1	Love Allen Massachusetts
Children	1 son, 1 daughter
Spouse 2	Aurella Smith Davis
Children	1 daughter

Religion
Burial	Locust Grove Cemetery

General Eleazer Wheelock Ripley is buried in Locust Grove Cemetery near Elm Park in West Feliciana Parish. He was a Louisiana Representative to Congress from 1835 - 1839.

This is the same tiny cemetery in which Sarah Davis, the first wife of Jefferson Davis, is buried.

A verbatim copy of the blurb of Eleazer Wheelock Ripley from the information board at Locus Grove Cemetery follows:

"Eleazer Wheelock Ripley was born in New Hampshire in 1782. He was the son of a professor of divinity at Dartmouth. He moved to Massachusetts to pursue a career in law and ended up serving as a state senator. Despite the general unpopularity in his state regarding a war with Britain, Ripley was a vocal supporter of a declaration of hostilities. President Madison then appointed him as a lieutenant colonel.

Ripley's reputation increased after successfully marching his troops four hundred miles to Plantenburg. In spring of 1813, he was promoted to colonel and was injured in an explosion at Sacket's Harbor. Ripley spent the rest of 1813 in convalescence, but remained active in recruiting for the army.

By the summer of 1814, Ripley was a general serving in the Niagara region, under Jacob Brown.

From the start, Ripley was against Brown's planned invasion of the Niagara peninsular, he thought
the force was too small to make any lasting impact on Canadian soil. This conflict of interest
caused considerable strain between the two men and led Brown to become convinced that Ripley
was unreliable.

In actuality, that was not the case and during the campaign, Ripley performed
valiantly at Lundy's Lane, where his men came to the rescue of Winfield Scott's battered troops. At
this time, his troops also captured several pieces of British artillery from a hill near the battlefield.
While Ripley received little recognition for his efforts, during a resolution of Congress dated
November 1, 1814, he was presented with a gold medal in honor for his military service."

Locus Grove Cemetery

The grave of General Eleazer W. Ripley

Gen. Eleazer W. Ripley
Died March 29, 1839
aged 54 years.

Aurelia Wheelock Ripley Gravesite

Aurelia Wheelock Ripley
Daughter of
E. W. & Aurelia Ripley
Born July 28, 1833
Died July 28, 1834
Aged 1 year

Stranger, If ever these Lines are Read
Mourn for the living not the dead.

Favorite Biographies
Announced for Congress - July 17, 1830, American Advocate
Bibliography of the General Officers in the War of 1812
Eulogy - April 5, 1839, Daily National Intelligencer
Louisiana Ancestors - October 28, 1979, Times Picayune
U. S. Congress Biography

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