Elijah Upton was born in 1821 in New Hampshire, but he moved to cedar Rapids later in his life. He made his home in Cedar rapids, where he employed himself as a farmer and a stockraiser. On August 11, 1862, he enlisted in the 24^th Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment to put down the Rebellion. On September 3, 1862, he mustered into the regiment as a 3^rd Sergeant. On July 1, 1863, he was promoted to the rank of 2^nd Sergeant. Only two months later, on September 30, 1863, he was transferred to the Invalid Corps in Washington City (later renamed Washington, D.C.), where after recovering from wounds, he became an orderly and tended the other wounded soldiers at the hospital. He was mustered out of the invalid Corps on June 28, 1865, in Washington City, and returned to Iowa. He died on September 26, 1876, and was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The location of his grave is (40-3-S 1/2).