1861 Civil War newspaper w MAP Harper's Ferry WEST VIRGINIA + DEATH of ELLSWORTH

Description

1861 Civil War newspaper w MAP Harper's Ferry , WEST VIRGINIA + DEATH of COLONEL ELLSWORTH in Alexandria, VA
- inv # 4T-208
SEE PHOTO----- COMPLETE, ORIGINAL Civil War NEWSPAPER, the
NY Herald
dated May 26, 1861.
This newspaper contains a prominent 7" x 5" map headlined: "Harper's Ferry (WV) and Its Advanced Military Posts." There are also prominent "stacked" headlines and a long report on the
DEATH of COLONEL ELLSWORTH at the hands of a secessionist in Alexandria, VA
.
Elmer Ephraim Ellsworth (April 11, 1837 – May 24, 1861) was a law clerk and United States Army soldier, best known as the first conspicuous casualty of the
American Civil War
. He was killed in the process of removing a
Confederate flag
from the roof of a Virginia hotel.
On May 24, 1861 (the day after
Virginia
's secession was ratified by
referendum
), with an order that came a day prior, Ellsworth found himself and his troops victorious in the face of a retreating confederate army in Alexandria. And on this day, Ellsworth would cut down the banner that he had seen countless times from the other side of the river. (This was not the later-designed, more famous "Battle flag", but rather the official "Stars and Bars" flag that more closely resembles the Union flag.)
On May 24, Ellsworth led the 11th New York across the Potomac and into the streets of Alexandria uncontested. He detached some men to take the railroad station while he led others to secure the telegraph office. On his way there, Ellsworth turned a corner and came face to face with the
Marshall House Inn
, atop of which the banner was still flying. He ordered a company of infantry as reinforcements and continued on his way to the telegraph office. But suddenly, Ellsworth changed his mind, turned around, and went up the steps of the Marshall House.
He entered the house accompanied by seven men. Once inside, they found a "disheveled-looking man, only half dressed, who had apparently just gotten out of bed" and who informed them that he was a boarder, upon Ellsworth's demand to know what the Confederate flag was doing atop the hotel. Ellsworth and four men then went upstairs to cut down the flag. As Ellsworth came downstairs with the (very large) flag, the sleepy "boarder" who was actually the owner of the house and one of the most ardent of secessionists in Alexandria,
James W. Jackson
, killed Ellsworth with a shotgun blast to the chest.
Corporal
Francis E. Brownell
, of
Troy, New York
, immediately stabbed Jackson with the bayonet on the end of his gun. 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 he lay in state in the
East Room
. 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, in the Hudson View Cemetery.
Thousands of Union supporters rallied around Ellsworth's cause and enlisted. "Remember Ellsworth" was a patriotic slogan: the
44th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment
called itself the "Ellsworth Avengers", as well as "The People's Ellsworth Regiment."
Very good condition. This listing includes the complete entire original newspaper, NOT just a clipping or a page of it. STEPHEN A. GOLDMAN HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS stands behind all of the items that we sell with a no questions asked, money back guarantee. Every item we sell is an original newspaper printed on the date indicated at the beginning of its description. U.S. buyers pay priority mail postage which includes waterproof plastic and a heavy cardboard flat to protect your purchase from damage in the mail. International postage is quoted when we are informed as to where the package is to be sent. We do combine postage (to reduce postage costs) for multiple purchases sent in the same package.
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