Ellsworth, E. E. (Elmer Ephraim), 1837-1861

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Born as Ephraim Elmer Ellsworth in Malta, New York, Ellsworth grew up in Mechanicville, New York, and later moved to New York City. In 1854, he moved to Rockford, Illinois, where he worked for a patent agency. In 1859, he became engaged to Carrie Spafford, the daughter of a local industrialist and city leader. When Carrie's father demanded that he find more suitable employment, he moved to Chicago to study law and work as a law clerk.

In 1860, Ellsworth moved to Springfield, Illinois, to work with Abraham Lincoln. Studying law under Lincoln, he also helped with Lincoln's 1860 campaign for president, and accompanied the new elected president to Washington, D.C. Ellsworth stood 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) tall; the six-foot-four Lincoln called him "the greatest little man I ever met".

In 1857, Ellsworth became drillmaster of the "Rockford Greys", the local militia company. He studied military science in his spare time. After some success with the Greys, he helped train militia units in Milwaukee and Madison. When he moved to Chicago, he became Colonel of Chicago's National Guard Cadets.

Ellsworth had studied the Zouave soldiers, French colonial troops in Algeria, and was impressed by their reported fighting quality. He outfitted his men in Zouave-style uniforms, and modeled their drill and training on the Zouaves. Ellsworth's unit became a nationally famous drill team.

Following the fall of Fort Sumter to Confederate Army troops in mid-April 1861, and Lincoln's subsequent call for 75,000 volunteers to defend the nation's capital, Ellsworth raised the 11th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment (the "Fire Zouaves") from New York City's volunteer firefighting companies, and was then commissioned as the regiment's commanding officer.

Ellsworth was killed at the Marshall House on May 24, 1861 (the day after Virginia's secession was ratified by referendum) during the Union Army's take-over of Alexandria. During the month before the event, the inn's proprietor, James W. Jackson, had raised from the inn's roof a large Confederate flag that President Lincoln and his Cabinet had reportedly observed through field glasses from an elevated spot in Washington. Jackson had reportedly stated that the flag would only be taken down "over his dead body".

Before crossing the Potomac River to take Alexandria, soldiers serving under Ellsworth's command observed the flag from their camp through field glasses and volunteered to remove it. Having seen the flag after landing in Alexandria, Ellsworth and seven other soldiers entered the inn through an open door. Once inside, they encountered a man dressed in a shirt and trousers, of whom Ellsworth demanded what sort of a flag it was that hung upon the roof.

The man, who seemed greatly alarmed, declared he knew nothing of it, and that he was only a boarder there. Without questioning him further, Ellsworth sprang up the stairs followed by his soldiers, climbed to the roof on a ladder and cut down the flag with a soldier's knife. The soldiers turned to descend, with Private Francis E. Brownell leading the way and Ellsworth following with the flag.

As Brownell reached the first landing place, Jackson jumped from a dark passage, leveled a double-barreled gun at Ellsworth's chest and discharged one barrel directly into Ellsworth's chest, killing him instantly. Jackson then discharged the other barrel at Brownell, but missed his target. Brownell's gun simultaneously shot, hitting Jackson in the middle of his face. Before Jackson dropped, Brownell repeatedly thrust his bayonet through Jackson's body, sending Jackson's corpse down the stairs.

Ellsworth became the first Union officer to die in the Civil War. Brownell, who retained a piece of the flag, 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 he lay in state in the East Room. Ellsworth's body 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, in the Hudson View Cemetery.

Thousands of Union supporters rallied around Ellsworth's cause and enlisted. "Remember Ellsworth" became a patriotic slogan. The 44th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment called itself the "Ellsworth Avengers" as well as "The People's Ellsworth Regiment".

Simultaneously, Jackson became a celebrated martyr for the Confederate cause. A plaque that the Sons of Confederate Veterans placed within a blind arch near a corner of a prominent hotel that stood on the former site of the Marshall House commemorated Jackson's role in the affair for many years. However, Marriott International removed the plaque in 2017 shortly after it purchased the hotel.

After the Marshall House incident, soldiers and souvenir hunters carried away pieces of the flag and inn as mementos, especially portions of the inn's stairway, balustrades, and oilcloth floor covering. Relics associated with Ellsworth's death became prized souvenirs.

President Lincoln kept the captured Marshall House flag, with which his son Tad often played and waved. The flag apparently passed to Brownell, and upon his death in 1894, his widow offered to sell small pieces of the flag for $10 and $15 each. She presented one fragment to "an early mentor" of her husband's; his descendants apparently sold it more than a century later.

Today, most of the flag is held by the New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center in Saratoga Springs, which also has Ellsworth's uniform with an apparent bullet hole. Another fragment is held by the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History, along with a blood-stained piece of oilcloth and a scrap of red bunting from the Marshall House. Yet another fragment is held by Bates College's Special Collections Library. A fragment bearing most of a star is on display at the Fort Ward Museum and Historic site in Alexandria, along with the kepi that Ellsworth wore when he was killed, patriotic envelopes bearing his image, and the "O" from the Marshall House sign that a soldier had taken as a souvenir.

Artifacts collected during the construction of the Hotel Monaco were preserved by local archeologists. They may be seen in the Torpedo Factory Art Center's third floor exhibit (the Alexandria Archaeology Museum), three blocks away on King Street.

The new county seat of Pierce County, Wisconsin, located in the undeveloped center of the county to settle the controversy between two established cities, was named Ellsworth, Wisconsin, in his honor. He is also the namesake of Ellsworth, Michigan; DC's Fort Ellsworth, and possibly Ellsworth, Iowa; Ellsworth, Kansas; and Mount Ellsworth near Green River, Utah.

Song: "Brave Men, Behold Your Fallen Chief" on IMSLP by Joseph Philbrick Webster.

He is a character in the 2012 film Saving Lincoln, in which his death is portrayed.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Bloodgood, Harry. [Massachusetts broadside collection]. Duke University Libraries, Duke University Library; Perkins Library
referencedIn Grimsley, Elizabeth Todd, 1825-1895. Letters: Washington, [D.C.], to John and Mary [Stuart], 1861 Apr. 29 - Aug. 3. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
referencedIn Ellsworth Zouave Cadets of San Francisco. The constitution and by-laws of the Ellsworth Zouave Cadets of San Francisco, Calif., organized 1864, 1864-1866. Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens
referencedIn Bates, Edward, 1793-1869. Letter [draft] : [Washington, D.C., to Abraham Lincoln], 1861 April 18. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
referencedIn Colt, Annie Matilda,. Scrapbook of sheet music, [between 1859 and 1879]. George Washington University
referencedIn E.E. Ellsworth scrapbook. Chicago History Museum
referencedIn C. B. Nichols scrapbooks, circa 1860 to 1896 Center for Brooklyn History (2020-)
referencedIn Wallace, Emma, fl. 1870. Photograph album of Emma Wallace [manuscript], ca. 1870. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States Commandery of the State of Massachusetts Civil War collection, 1724-1933 (inclusive); 1861-1912 (bulk). Houghton Library
referencedIn Robinson, Alfred S. Civil War Covers Collection, 1861-1898. Connecticut Historical Society
creatorOf Ellsworth, E. E. (Elmer Ephraim), 1837-1861. E.E. Ellsworth autobiographical account, 1861. Library of Congress
creatorOf Ellsworth, Ephraim Elmer, 1837-1861. Papers, 1854-1861. Brown University Archives, John Hay Library
creatorOf Ellsworth, E. E. (Elmer Ephraim), 1837-1861. Papers, [1859 or 1860]-1861. Rosenbach Museum & Library
referencedIn Poems about the death of Colonel Elmer E. Ellsworth. Vermont Historical Society
referencedIn Brownell, Francis Edwin, d. 1894. Letter and picture: to Col[onel] F[rank] C. Loveland, New York City, 1888 July 18. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
referencedIn Hay, John, 1838-1905. Papers of John Hay, 1872-1905. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn James H. Campbell papers 1861-1866 Campbell, James H. papers William L. Clements Library
referencedIn Ellsworth, Ephraim D. Letter, 1861 June 3. American Periodical Series I
creatorOf Ellsworth, E. E. (Elmer Ephraim), 1837-1861. Papers, [184-]-1935 (bulk 1859-1861). Rosenbach Museum & Library
referencedIn Sheldon, Henry L. (Henry Luther), 1821-1907. Shooting of Col. Ellsworth collection, ca. 1860s-ca. 1891. Sheldon Museum Research Center
creatorOf Ellsworth, E. E. (Elmer Ephraim), 1837-1861. Papers, 1854-1861. Brown University Archives, John Hay Library
creatorOf Ellsworth, E. E. (Elmer Ephraim), 1837-1861. Papers, 1855-1861. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
creatorOf Ellsworth, E. E. (Elmer Ephraim), 1837-1861. Elmer Ephraim Ellsworth collection, 1858-1884. New York State Library
referencedIn Buck, Richard Bayly, 1844-1888. Letters to his family [manuscript], 1861-1862. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Ellsworth ; a battle hymn for Ellsworth Zouaves. Air: Bruces Address to his Army : poem, 1861? Brown University Archives, John Hay Library
referencedIn Ellsworth, Elmer E. (Elmer Ephraim), 1837-1861. Civil War officer images [picture], ca. 1861. Wisconsin Veterans Museum Research Center
referencedIn Pierson, Edward A., 1836-1863. Papers, 1796-1872 (bulk 1851-1863). New Jersey Historical Society Library
referencedIn Hubard, Robert Thruston, 1808-1871,. Letters to Robert Thruston Hubard from Harris & Gibson, Richmond, Va. [manuscript] 1856-60. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896,. Civil War Miscellanies Ephemera Collection, 1858-1884 (bulk 1861-1865). Porterville Public Library
referencedIn Anonymous. Patriotic covers, 1861-1889 [bulk 1861]. The Filson Historical Society
referencedIn Brownell, Francis Edwin, d. 1894. Letter: St. Louis, M[iss]o[uri]., to John C. Powers [i.e., Power], Springfield, Illinois, 1878 May 24. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
referencedIn Stoek, J. F. J.F. Stoek papers, 1861-1864. Historical Society of Washington, D.C.
referencedIn Wallace, Emma, fl. 1870. Photograph album of Emma Wallace, ca. 1870. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Ellsworth, E. E. (Elmer Ephraim), 1837-1861. Colonel Ellsworth's last letter, 1861 May 23. Buffalo History Museum, Research Library
creatorOf Ellsworth, E. E. (Elmer Ephraim), 1837-1861. Elmer Ellsworth letter, 23 May 1861. Connecticut Historical Society
referencedIn Cash, Hiram M., fl. 1861-1863. Letters of Hiram M. Cash [manuscript], 1861-1863. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Butler, C. M. (Clement Moore), 1810-1890. Letters, 1861, 1864 (bulk 1861) Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
creatorOf Brownell, Frank E., 1840-. Research materials regarding Elmer Ephraim Ellsworth, 1859-1911. Minnesota Historical Society Library
referencedIn Brady, Mathew B., ca. 1823-1896. Elmer E. Ellsworth, col., 1st Zouaves : photographic copies of letter and photographs in the collection of Americana of Frederick Hill Meserve, New York. Allen County Public Library, ACPL
referencedIn Anonymous. Patriotic covers collection, 1861-1862. The Filson Historical Society
referencedIn Sherman, Thomas W. (Thomas West), 1813-1879. Letters, May 24, 1861. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
referencedIn Hunt, Elmer Munson, 1883-1968. The spirit of Elmer Ellsworth : address before the Lincoln Group of Boston, 1946. Brown University, Brown University Library
creatorOf Elmer Ephraim Ellsworth Papers, Ellsworth (Elmer Ephraim) papers, 1854-1861 John Hay Library, Special Collections
referencedIn Portrait file: Guide. Houghton Library
creatorOf Ellsworth, Elmer E. (Elmer Ephraim), 1837-1861. Civil War officer images [picture], ca. 1861. Wisconsin Veterans Museum Research Center
referencedIn Belden, Mary Jane. Scrapbook, 1803-1861. Connecticut Historical Society
referencedIn Stone, Edward P., 1830-1920. Edward Stone, John M. Stone and F.J. Hill letters, 1861. Vermont Historical Society
referencedIn Woodward, Ashbel, 1804-1885. Ashbel Woodward biography collection, undated. Connecticut Historical Society
referencedIn Waggoner, N. W. b. 1834. Diary 1861 January 1 - December 31. The Filson Historical Society
referencedIn Randall, Ruth Painter. Ruth Painter Randall papers, 1961 University of Kentucky Libraries
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Compiled Military Service Record of Colonel E. Elner Ellsworth, 11th New York Infantry Regiment National Archives at Washington, D.C
Relation Name
associatedWith Bates, Edward, 1793-1869. person
associatedWith Belden, Mary Jane. person
associatedWith Brownell, Francis Edwin, d. 1894. person
associatedWith Brownell, Frank E., 1840- person
associatedWith Buck, Richard Bayly, 1844-1888. person
associatedWith Butler, C. M. (Clement Moore), 1810-1890. person
associatedWith Cadet's Terpsichorean Club. corporateBody
associatedWith Cadets' Terpsichorean Club. corporateBody
associatedWith Campbell, James Hepburn, 1820-1895 person
associatedWith Cash, Hiram M., fl. 1861-1863. person
associatedWith Colt, Annie Matilda, person
associatedWith Ellsworth, E. E. (Elmer Ephraim), 1837-1861. person
associatedWith Ellsworth, Elmer E. (Elmer Ephraim), 1837-1861. person
associatedWith Ellsworth, Ephraim D. person
associatedWith Ellsworth, Ephraim D., person
associatedWith Ellsworth, Phoebe Denton, person
associatedWith Ellsworth Zouave Cadets of San Francisco. person
associatedWith Grimsley, Elizabeth Todd, 1825-1895. person
associatedWith Hay, John, 1838-1905. person
associatedWith Hunt, Elmer Munson, 1883-1968. person
associatedWith Illinois Infantry. United States Zouave Cadets, 1859-1860. corporateBody
associatedWith Illinois. Militia. U.S. Zouave Cadets. corporateBody
associatedWith Illinois. Militia. U.S. Zouave Cadets. corporateBody
associatedWith Jackson, James W., d. 1861. person
associatedWith Jones, E. E. person
associatedWith Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865. person
associatedWith Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1965 person
associatedWith Marshall House (Hotel : Alexandria, Va.) corporateBody
associatedWith McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, person
associatedWith Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. Commandery of the State of Massachusetts, collector. corporateBody
associatedWith Nichols, C. B. person
associatedWith Pierson, Edward A., 1836-1863. person
associatedWith Randall, Ruth Painter. person
associatedWith Sheldon, Henry L. (Henry Luther), 1821-1907. person
associatedWith Sherman, Thomas W. (Thomas West), 1813-1879. person
associatedWith Spafford, Carrie M., b. 1842, person
associatedWith Stoek, J. F. person
associatedWith Stone, Edward P., 1830-1920. person
associatedWith United States. Army corporateBody
associatedWith United States. Army. Illinois Light Artillery Regiment, 1st (1861-1865) corporateBody
memberOf United States. Army. New York Infantry Regiment, 11th (1861-1862) corporateBody
associatedWith United States. Army. New York Infantry Regiment, 11th (1861-1862) corporateBody
associatedWith United States. Army. New York Infantry Regiment, 11th (1861-1862) corporateBody
associatedWith United States. Army. New York Infantry Regiment, 73rd (1861-1865) corporateBody
associatedWith Waggoner, N. W. b. 1834. person
associatedWith Wallace, Emma, fl. 1870. person
associatedWith Wisconsin Veterans Museum corporateBody
associatedWith Woodward, Ashbel, 1804-1885. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
New York (State) NY US
United States
Alexandria VA US
Subject
Civil War, 1861-1865
Drill and minor tactics
Illinois Infantry
Infantry drill and tactics
Military uniforms
Military uniforms
Presidential campaigns
Temperance
Zouaves
Occupation
Army officers
Lawyers
Soldiers
Activity

Person

Birth 1837-04-11

Death 1861-05-24

Birth 1837

Death 1861

Male

Americans

English

Information

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