Charles R. Ellet

Colonel Charles R. Ellet
Born	(1843-06-01)June 1, 1843 Georgetown, Washington, D.C., U.S.
Died	October 29, 1863(1863-10-29) (aged 20) Bunker Hill, Illinois, U.S.
Buried	Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Allegiance	United States Union
Service/branch	Union Army
Years of service	1862–1863
Rank	Colonel
Unit	United States Ram Fleet Mississippi Marine Brigade
Commands held	United States Ram Fleet
Battles/wars	American Civil War First Battle of Memphis Vicksburg Campaign Battle of Arkansas Post Battle of Richmond, Louisiana Battle of Goodrich's Landing
Relations	Charles Ellet, Jr. (father) Alfred W. Ellet (uncle) John A. Ellet (cousin)

Charles Rivers Ellet (June 1, 1843 – October 29, 1863) was a colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He served in the United States Ram Fleet under his father Charles Ellet, Jr. and as commanding officer of the ram fleet as part of the Mississippi Marine Brigade under his uncle Alfred W. Ellet. He commanded the ram ships USS Queen of the West, USS Switzerland, USS Lancaster and USS Monarch during the brown-water navy battle for control of the Mississippi River and its tributaries as part of the Vicksburg Campaign from 1862 to 1863.

At only nineteen years of age, he was one of the youngest colonels in the Union Army. His daring runs of two different ram ships past the batteries at Vicksburg as well as operations on the Yazoo River won him praise from William T. Sherman and David Dixon Porter. However, he was criticized by Porter when his aggressive actions on the Red River led to the capture of the Queen of the West by Confederate forces.