Elisha Hunt Rhodes (March 21, 1842 – January 14, 1917) was an American soldier who served in the Union Army of the Potomac for the entire duration of the American Civil War, rising from corporal to colonel of his regiment by war's end.

On June 21, 1864 he was promoted to captain and assigned to Company B but was also ordered to command the regiment, which he did for the remainder of the war.

From June 25, 1879 until March 21, 1892 he served as the commander of the Brigade of Rhode Island Militia with the rank of brigadier general.

[1] During his time in office General Rhodes helped transform the militia into a more professional organization and established the state training ground at Quonset Point in North Kingstown.

Rhodes was very active in the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), the largest of several organizations for Union veterans.

An active Freemason, having joined the fraternity while home on leave in 1864, he served as Worshipful Master of Harmony Lodge, No.

At the end it shows a somewhat conflicted young man who wanted to be home with his family after trials of war but who also found life in the Army very agreeable to him.

His writings were made famous by their incorporation into filmmaker Ken Burns' 1990 landmark PBS-TV documentary series The Civil War.

His large collection of personal relics and mementos is now owned by the Rhode Island Historical Society in Providence.