Ellet, Charles, Jr. (1810-1862), an American civil engineer, built what is generally recognized as the first important suspension bridge in the United States. The bridge, completed in 1842, spanned the Schuylkill River near Philadelphia. In 1849, Ellet completed a railroad bridge across the Ohio River at Wheeling, West Virginia. The structure, with a main span of 1,010 feet (308 meters), was at that time the longest suspension bridge in the world.
Ellet was born in Penn’s Manor, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He studied engineering at the Ecole Polytechnique (Technical School) in Paris. In addition to bridges, Ellet built canals and railroads. He proposed using ships with iron rams to attack coastal forts and harbors in wartime. He led a Union fleet of nine such ships in the Battle of Memphis in June 1862. The fleet was victorious, but Ellet was wounded, and he died soon after the battle.
