[1][2][3] In the final decade of his life, he also became an active member of the Lakeside Assembly, a lifelong learning initiative similar to the Chautauqua movement of the 1890s and early 1900s.

By 1860, as one of the only two Skellie children still residing at home with his mother, he had become a primary breadwinner, according to that year's federal census, farming the family's land with his older brother James[9] He was 19-year-old when the Fort Sumter fell to the Confederate Army troops at the dawn of the American Civil War in mid-April 1861, Ebenezer Skellie continued to work on his family's farm and support his mother during the war's first year.

Just over a year later, in response to calls from President Abraham Lincoln and the Governor of New York for additional volunteers to help preserve America's Union,[10] Skellie enlisted for a three-year term of military service.

Making their way "through woods, swamps and mud holes" to reach "Zuni, a small town on the Blackwater river" at dawn, they joined with the 6th Massachusetts to force Confederate army skirmishers to cease operations.

Additional, intense skirmishing then ensued May 3, when the 112th New York was ordered to pursue the enemy as it retreated, and placed in the lead of Foster's brigade as it moved out on May 5.

[16] Marched to the railroad station on June 27, he and his regiment were next transported to Norfolk, where they boarded the steamer John Brooks, sailed the York and Pamunky rivers, and disembarked at White House Landing.

Moving on to Big Bethel, Hampton, Portsmouth, and Bower's Hill, they remained there for several weeks before heading back to Fort Monroe.

Assigned to fatigue, guard and duties on Folly and Morris islands, the soldiers stationed here suffered frequently from dysentery, fevers and other ailments as they supported other Union troops in the Second Battle of Charleston Harbor through September 7, during which Fort Sumter was virtually reduced to rubble, Morris Island was captured, and Fort Wagner fell.

Transported via the Helen Getty and Ben Deford, they stopped at Stono inlet for the night, and then crossed the bar there in daylight to reach the mouth of the St. John's River.

Steaming for Jacksonville, Florida,[21] they disembarked there around noon, marched to a vacant field inside the city's boundaries, and began to erect earthenworks.

[23] Transported by the steamer Cossack to Hilton Head on April 20, the 112th New York Volunteers transferred to the larger Erricson at Port Royal and sailed for Hampton Roads, Virginia, where they arrived on May 3, to await orders.

The next day, they were ordered to assist Brigadier-General Charles Adam Heckman's troops, who had been badly battered by a surprise, early morning Confederate attack.

Heading to the position where they had been told Heckman's forces would be, confusion ensued when an officer riding on point (Lt. Col. E. P. Carpenter) ordered the regiment to fall back as he was fired upon.

On July 30, Skellie and his fellow 112th New York Volunteers fought in the Battle of the Crater, an ultimately unsuccessful engagement which resulted in significant Union casualties.

Withdrawn from the battle area, they moved on, spending the remainder of the month and most of August at Bermuda Hundred and at a site across the Appomattox River for much of September, venturing forth periodically from both locations for skirmishes and other assignments.

William L. Hyde described how Skellie was felled:[34] On the 24th of September, the commands were withdrawn from the defenses [of the Union’s Division Headquarters near Petersburg], and camped about two miles in the rear, preparatory to a change….

The intervening ground was broken, two ravines were to be crossed, and there was a slashing of a timber two-thirds of the distance, then and open corn field in front of the Fort.

The line of earth works from this Fort on either side, extended in such form that when the corn field was reached, the men were exposed to an enfilading fire.

Gallantly they pressed on, and were met by a murderous fire as they toiled through the slashing [and multiple men from the 112th New York began to fall, dead or grievously wounded].

[excessive quote]Returning home to Chautauqua County following his release from the hospital and honorable discharge from the military, Ebenezer Skellie resumed his life on the family farm in Mina, where he resided alone with his mother.

W. L. Hyde on October 11, 1865,[36] he and his wife greeted the births of two daughters: Lettie (1866–1867), who died in early childhood and was laid to rest at the Mina Cemetery; and Minnie (1868–1894), who was born on November 7, 1868, and went on to marry H. Reed Weaver.

By 1870, Ebenezer Skellie was residing with his wife and surviving daughter in Mina, where he was a successful farmer with real estate and personal property valued at $6,400.

[39] In addition, he operated a lumber mill in Findley Lake, New York,[40] but sold his principal site there to the Swartz family in 1892, according to historian Randy Boerst.

The next year, Skellie became involved with Chautauqua, an educational movement launched during the late 19th century to inspire lifelong learning among adults by offering free to low cost cultural, scientific and spiritual programs in communities across America.

According to Military Times, his citation contained the following information:[47] "The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Corporal Ebenezer Skellie, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism on 29 September 1864, while serving with Company D, 112th New York Infantry, in action at Chapin's Farm [sic], Virginia.