Everything about Elmer E Ellsworth totally explained
Elmer Ephraim Ellsworth (
April 11 1837 –
May 24 1861) was a lawyer and soldier, best known as the first conspicuous casualty of the
American Civil War.
Ellsworth was born in Malta, New York, grew up in
Mechanicville, New York, and lived in
New York City. Eventually he moved to
Chicago, where he worked as a law clerk. After studying military science in his spare time, Ellsworth became a colonel of Chicago's National Guard Cadets, introducing his men to the
Zouave uniforms, which French colonial troops wore. Ellsworth's unit eventually became a national champion drill team.
In 1860, Ellsworth went to
Springfield, Illinois, and studied law in
Abraham Lincoln's office, helping Lincoln with his
campaign for president. Ellsworth went with Lincoln to
Washington, D.C., when he was elected. President Lincoln nicknamed Ellsworth "the greatest little man I ever met." Ellsworth helped recruit soldiers after the secession crisis in 1861, raising the
11th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment from among
New York City's firefighters.
Ellsworth also traveled and set up a practice in
Rockford, Illinois, where he was involved in the recruiting of several militia and cadet units. It was during this time he met and became engaged to Carrie Spafford, the daughter of a local industrialist and city leader. They didn't marry before he left for Washington, taking the New York regiment with him.
Ellsworth died shortly after arriving in Washington. On
May 24,
1861, the day after
Virginia seceded, Ellsworth led his men uncontested down the streets of
Alexandria, Virginia, across the
Potomac River from Washington. He ordered some of his men to take the railroad station while he and a few other soldiers went to secure the telegraph office. While doing this, Ellsworth noticed a
Confederate flag flying above the Marshall House Inn. He and four others quickly went up the stairs. Ellsworth cut down the flag and was on the way down the stairs when the owner, James W. Jackson, killed him with a shotgun blast to the chest.
Cpl. Francis Brownell of
Troy, New York, immediately killed the innkeeper. Brownell was later awarded a
Medal of Honor for his actions.
Lincoln was deeply saddened by his friend's death and ordered an honor guard to bring his friend's body to the
White House, where it lay in state in the
East Room on
May 25,
1861. Ellsworth was then taken to the City Hall in
New York City, where thousands of Union supporters came to see the first man to fall for the
Union cause. Ellsworth was then buried in his hometown of Mechanicville, New York, in Hudson View Cemetery.
Thousands of Union supporters rallied around Ellsworth's cause and enlisted. "Remember Ellsworth" was a patriotic slogan, and a New York regiment of volunteers (the 44th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment) called itself the "Ellsworth Avengers" as well as "The People's Ellsworth Regiment."
Relics associated with Ellsworth's death became prized souvenirs. The
Smithsonian and
Bates College's Special Collections Library have pieces of the Confederate flag that Ellsworth was removing when he was shot—in 1894, Brownell's widow was offering to sell small pieces of the flag for $10 and $15 each. The New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center in
Saratoga Springs has most of the flag itself and Ellsworth's uniform, showing the hole from the fatal shot.
Ellsworth, Wisconsin, is named in his honor.
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