General Wells Statue

General Wells Statue - Gettysburg - Inventory Number: ALB 214

The bronze statue of William Wells was created by J. Otto Schweitzer, one of seven statues by the Swiss-born sculptor on the Gettysburg battlefield.* Sweitzer used Well’s actual clothing, boots, belt, and revolver as a model. The statue was so well received that friends ordered an exact copy which stands in Battery Park in Burlington, Vermont, Wells’s home town.

William Wells:

Brevet Major General U.S. Vols.

1837 – 1892

First Lieut. Co. C 1st Vermont Cavalry Oct. 14, 1861

Captain Co. C Nov. 18, 1861

Major Dec. 30, 1862

Colonel July 2, 1864

Brevet Brigadier General U.S. Vols. Feb. 22, 1865

Brevet Major General U.S. Vols.

For gallant and meritorious services March 13, 1865

Brigadier General U.S. Vols. May 19, 1865

Honorably mustered out Jan. 15, 1866

Once wounded and once a prisoner

Awarded Medal of Honor for “most distinguished gallantry at Gettysburg” July 3, 1863

Commander of Sheridan’s Cavalry Corps

Inventory Number: ALB 214