Elijah was born sometime in 1836 in Burlington, Connecticut, and enlisted in the 14th Connecticut Infantry in July of 1862. One year later he was fighting in the Battle of Gettysburg and it was his actions on the last day, during Pickett's Charge, that would earn him the Medal of Honor. The citation reads:

Capture of flag of 16th North Carolina regiment.

Elijah William Bacon was killed in action one year later, on the 6th of May, 1864, during the Battle of the Wilderness near Spotsylvania and Orange Counties, Virginia. He posthumously received the Medal of Honor on the 1st of December, 1864 and he is buried next to his father in the Maple Cemetery in Berlin, Connecticut: Section A