Elmer Ellsworth
| Elmer Ephraim Ellsworth | |
|---|---|
Col. Elmer Ellsworth (1861)
|
|
| Born |
April 11, 1837 Malta, New York, U.S. |
| Died | May 24, 1861 (aged 24) Alexandria, Virginia, U.S. |
| Buried at | Hudson View Cemetery Mechanicville, New York, U.S. |
| Allegiance | |
| Service/branch | |
| Years of service | 1861 |
| Rank |
 Colonel
|
| Unit |
 11th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment
|
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
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 and the first Union officer killed in the American Civil War. He was killed while removing a Confederate flag from the roof of the Marshall House Inn of Alexandria, Virginia, at the behest of Abraham Lincoln, as the flag had been visible from the White House as a defiant sign of the growing rebellion.
Before his death, as tension built up toward the war, Colonel Ellsworth had been the leader of a famous touring military drill team known as the "Fire Zouaves" and was a close personal friend of Lincoln. Lincoln called him "the greatest little man I ever met", and his body lay in state at the White House after his death. Following his death, "Remember Ellsworth" would become a Union rallying cry. While the first conspicuous death of the Civil War, the first casualties of the war occurred more than a month earlier during the Baltimore riot.
Born as Ephraim Elmer Ellsworth in Malta, New York, Ellsworth grew up in Mechanicville, New York, and lived in 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. Carrie's father demanded that he find more suitable employment, so he moved to Chicago, to study law and work as a law clerk.
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Wikipedia