author
Ellison Capers
1837–1908
A South Carolina church leader with an unusually dramatic life, he moved from military service in the Civil War to decades of work as a priest, teacher, and bishop. His story links the worlds of faith, education, and 19th-century Southern history.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1837, Ellison Capers graduated from The Citadel before serving in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, eventually reaching the rank of brigadier general. After the war, he turned toward church life and public service, a shift that gave the rest of his career a very different focus.
Capers was ordained as an Episcopal priest in 1868 and went on to serve as rector, teacher, and school leader in South Carolina. He worked in Greenville and at institutions including Furman University, and later became assistant bishop of South Carolina in 1887 before being elected bishop of the diocese in 1893.
Remembered as both a soldier and a churchman, Capers also served as chancellor of the University of the South at Sewanee late in life. He died in 1908, leaving behind a reputation shaped by leadership, learning, and religious service.