Marshall House (Historical Marker)

Here follows the inscription written on this roadside historical marker:

Marshall House
City of Alexandria Est. 1749

In the early morning hours of May 24, 1861, the day after a public referendum in Virginia supported secession from the United States, Alexandria was invaded by Union forces crossing the Potomac. Colonel Elmer E. Ellsworth, the young commander of the 11th New York Fire Zouaves taking part in the invasion was a close confidant and friend of President Abraham Lincoln. Within minutes of arriving in the city, Ellsworth attempted to remove a secessionist flag from the rooftop flagpole of the Marshall House hostelry that once stood at this corner. As he descended the stairs after successfully removing the flag, proprietor James W. Jackson emerged from the shadows and killed Ellsworth with a gunshot to the chest at point blank range. Jackson himself was then immediately shot and bayoneted by Corporal Francis Brownell of Troy, New York, who later received the Medal of Honor for his actions as he accompanied Ellsworth on that fateful day. Thus were the first two deaths from violence, representing each side of the national conflict, during the American Civil War.

In the days and months after the altercation on King Street, both Ellsworth and Jackson became martyrs to the defense of their country on native soil. Rallying cries of "Remember Ellsworth!" and "Remember Jackson!" were used to recruit enlistments and support by Northern and Southern leaders, and the men were immortalized as heroes in popular culture and in commemorative wares of the period. In the years after their deaths, their first or last names were often chosen for newborn males throughout the country by those loyal to each man's respective cause.

Artifacts associated with this event, including architectural items from the Marshall House, a piece of the controversial flag, and the "kepi" cap Ellsworth wore that morning are on view at Alexandria's Fort Ward Museum and Historic Site, 4301 West Braddock Road. Fort Ward is the best surviving example of the system of 168 forts and batteries known as the "Defenses of Washington" that protected the nation's capital during the Civil War. Public transit to Fort Ward is available by taking a DASH bus from the King Street Metro Station.

Erected by City of Alexandria.

[Caption:] Stereograph showing a group of Union soldiers standing in the street in front of the Marshall House at the corner of King and Pitt streets, the scene of the assassination of Col. E. E. Ellsworth on May 24, 1861.


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Here follows an excerpt from the Clio Foundation website about the Marshall House events as written by Ben M.:

Introduction:
This historical marker shares the story of Colonel Elmer Ellsworth (1837-1861), a close friend of President Abraham Lincoln and the first Union officer to be killed during the Civil War. Ellsworth and his troops of 11th New York Volunteer Regiment arrived in Alexandria on May 24, 1861 as part of the Union's takeover of the city a day after Virginia residents voted in favor of seceding. One of the buildings in the city, a hotel called the Marshall House, featured a large Confederate flag flying atop a flagpole on the roof that could be seen from the White House. Ellsworth and a group of four soldiers went to the hotel to remove it. After Ellsworth retrieved the flag, the owner of the hotel ardent supporter of slavery, James W. Jackson, shot and killed Ellsworth at point blank range as Ellsworth and the others descended the staircase. One of the soldiers, Francis E Brownell, then immediately shot Jackson (he later received the Medal of Honor for his actions). Ellsworth died immediately on May 24, 1861. The Marshall House was torn down around 1950 and stood where The Alexandrian Hotel is today.

Backstory and Context:
Elmer E. Ellsworth was born on April 11, 1837 in Malta, New York and remained there until moving to Mechanicville, New York in 1847. He made his way to New York City sometime in the next few years and got a job working in a linen shop. In the late 1850s he was in Chicago working as a clerk in a law office and joined a local militia, the National Guard Cadets. He became its major and soon transformed it into the United States Zouave Cadets, which was modeled after the French Zouaves (Algerian infantry regiments of the French army who wore colorful uniforms). In 1860, Ellsworth moved to Springfield, Illinois to work for and study law under Abraham Lincoln. He helped Lincoln during the 1860 presidential campaign and moved to Washington D.C. to work in Lincoln's office. Ellsworth formed the 11th New York Volunteer Regiment shortly before the Civil War began. His soldiers wore Zouave-style uniforms and most of them came from the New York City's fire departments, earning them the nickname "Fire Zouaves."

Ellsworth was taken to the Washington Navy Yard where Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln viewed his body. Lincoln reportedly said "My boy! My boy! Was it necessary this sacrifice should be!” His body was then taken to the White House to lay in state and then buried in Hudson View Cemetery in Mechanicville. The deaths of both he and Jackson became rallying cries for the Union and the Confederacy. The flag Ellsworth removed from the flagpole was apparently given to Mary Todd Lincoln, who put it in a drawer. A piece of it, and Ellsworth's uniform cap, are housed at the Fort Ward Museum.

Elmer Ellsworth:
Prior to his becoming the first conspicuous casualty of the Civil War, Elmer Ephraim Ellsworth led a short but interesting life. During his 24 years, he was a lawyer, a colonel, and a close friend of President Abraham Lincoln, whom he met in Springfield, Illinois after moving there to work in Lincoln's office and who he followed to Washington.

With an interest in military science that began well before the start of the Civil War - he would have gone to the U.S. Military Academy if he could have afforded it - Ellsworth responded enthusiastically to Lincoln's 1861 call for troops by raising of the 11th New York Volunteer Infantry, which he dressed in distinctive Zouave-style uniforms, fashioned after those worn by French colonial troops.

Ironically, perhaps, for all of his drills and militia training, Ellsworth's death came not in a battle, but instead inside the long-demolished Marshall House hotel in Alexandria, Virginia. The building's owner had a raised a large Confederate flag from its roof, which was visible from the White House. Offering to retrieve the flag for the president, Ellsworth led his 11th New York across the Potomac River and into Alexandria. Ellsworth succeeded in removing the flag, but as he descended the stairs from the building's roof, the hotel's owner, James W. Jackson, shot and killed Ellsworth with a single shotgun blast to the chest.

Lincoln had the body of Ellsworth, whom he called "the greatest little man I ever met," laid in state at the White House before it was taken to his home state of New York for burial. His memory lived on throughout the war as "Remember Ellsworth" became a rallying cry for supporters of the Union, regiments were named in his honor and artifacts related to his death became popular souvenirs.


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Here follows an excerpt from the "Jaybird's Jottings" blog in 2010 as written by Jay Roberts:

Old Town Alexandria Commemorative Plaques:
Marshall House
480 King

So far we have looked at 24 plaques, covering a dozen square blocks along the lower portions of King Street. As one would expect, some of them are located in places that invite the passerby to slow down and take a look. Others, not so much.

This quality of “hidden in plain sight” is quite apparent for the Marshall House commemorative plaque. Although it is large and conspicuous, the pace on the sidewalk in the business district is more head first than on more sleepy streets like Prince. It’s a shame because the dramatic event that took place here in 1861 made many a headline and became a poignant part of the first days of the Civil War.

One of the better concise accounts of the two killings can be found in Occupied City, Portrait of Civil War Alexandria by Jeremy J. Harvey. A more in-depth look is the well-received The Glories of War: Small Battle and Early Heroes of 1861 by Charles P. Poland Jr. The author devotes the first chapter to the topic.

Colonel Ellsworth and his men came across the river on boats in the early morning hours of May 1861, arriving on the Alexandria shore around 5:30. Their destination was the telegraph office, but when they spotted the flag at the Marshall House, Ellsworth and several of his men walked up to the roof and took it down (by some accounts, they planned to take it down beforehand). Upon their descent down the stairs, James Jackson, the innkeeper, surprised them. With his shotgun, he shot Ellsworth, killing him instantly. Corporal Francis Brownell then shot and killed Jackson.

Both sides mourned their fallen hero, and then hailed them as martyrs.