Pardon Elisha Tillinghast

Born in West Greenwich, Rhode Island, in 1836, Pardon Elisha Tillinghast served in the Union Army during the Civil War with the Twelfth Rhode Island Volunteers. He later wrote about that experience in Reminiscences of Service with the Twelfth Rhode Island Volunteers and helped preserve the regiment's story in a fuller history published near the end of his life.

Tillinghast also built a distinguished legal career in Rhode Island. He served on the Rhode Island Supreme Court from 1891 until 1905 and became chief justice in 1904, holding that role until his death in 1905.

Remembered both as a judge and as a chronicler of wartime service, he stands out as a writer whose work was closely tied to lived experience. For listeners interested in Civil War memoirs and regimental history, his writing offers the perspective of someone who was there and cared deeply about preserving what he saw.