Description:

DEATH OF ELMER E. ELLSWORTH
ELMER E. ELLSWORTH (1837-1861) U.S. Army Colonel, the first Union officer to be killed during the Civil War. Ellsworth was shot while attempting to remove a Confederate flag from the Marshall House Inn in Alexandria under orders from Abraham Lincoln, as the flag had been plainly visible from the White House. Extraordinary pair of items related to Ellsworth''s death, includes: a fragment of oilcloth, approx. 1 1/2" x 2", to which a 2" long sliver of wood has been affixed, and displaying a trickle of dark red across the center. The significance of this relic is explained by a partly printed document, 2pp. 12mo., "Military District of Alexandria", June 16, 1861, a pass issued to Israel L. Smith, a childhood friend of Abraham Lincoln who was visiting the President at the outbreak of the war. The pass allows Smith and two friends to enter Alexandria, and is signed by a Provost Marshal. Smith adds the hand-written notation: "This is my pass & a piece of the flag staff that held the flag that Ellsworth took down & a piece of the oil cloth with a drop of his Blood on it". The pass shows folds with some slight soiling, else very good.

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December 20, 2017 10:00 AM EST
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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