Elias Riggs Monfort Military Discharge
This original discharge documents Elias Riggs Monfort at the beginning of the Civil War. It identifies him as a private in Company A of the 75th Ohio Volunteer Infantry and preserves unusually detailed personal information about the nineteen-year-old soldier.
What the Document Records
The discharge states that Elias R. Monfort enrolled on June 23, 1861 and was discharged October 5, 1861 under a special order from Ohio Adjutant General C. P. Buckingham. It records his birthplace as Greensburg, Indiana, his age as nineteen, his height as approximately 5 feet 9¾ inches, fair complexion, gray eyes, dark brown hair, and occupation as student.
Why It Matters
The document is direct primary evidence for Monfort's early Civil War service and personal biography. It helps establish who he was before the later Gettysburg wound, family telegrams, and correspondence that form a substantial part of the surviving Monfort papers.
Evidence boundary: This is military and biographical evidence. It does not by itself establish Underground Railroad activity.