Civil War Union Brevet Brigadier General. Educated in theology at Bethany College in western Virginia in the late 1840's, he became a clergyman and school teacher in the mountains of southeastern Ohio. A passionate Unionist, when President Lincoln called for volunteers to preserve the Union, he was among the first to respond. As a captain in the 27th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, he saw limited action in Missouri. When delegates from northern and western counties of Virginia opposed secession and moved to establish a loyal government in Wheeling, he supported the movement. Francis H. Pierpont, the restored governor of Virginia, called for the formation of pro-Union West Virginia military units. Wells responded by assisting in the recruitment of the 15th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry; and he was commissioned as a major in that unit on October 16, 1862. The 15th West Virginia was attached to the Railroad Division. It provided security to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and other railroads crossing West Virginia. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on August 8, 1864 and assumed command of the regiment one month later as its colonel. He was in command of the 15th West Virginia at the Battle of Cedar Creek on October 19, 1864. During that engagement, he was the first officer to discover the Confederates advancing and ordered the first shot of the battle. He was wounded in the left hip. After the Battle of Cedar Creek, the 15th West Virginia did duty in the Shenandoah Valley; Washington, D.C.; Bermuda Hundred; and Richmond. As the war drew to a close, they took part in the Appomattox Campaign. On March 13, 1865, he was brevetted brigadier general " for gallant and meritorious services during the war." At the end of the war, he moved to Rock county, Wisconsin, where he resumed his career as a minister.