The Marshall House (Historical Marker)

Here follows the inscription written on this roadside historical marker:

The Marshall House stood upon this site, and within the building on the early morning of May 24, 1861 James W. Jackson was killed by Federal soldiers while defending his property and personal rights as stated in the verdict of the coroners jury. He was the first martyr to the cause of Southern Independence. The justice of history does not permit his name to be forgotten. Not in the excitement of battle, but coolly and for a great principle, he laid down his life, an example to all, in defense of his home and the sacred soil of his native state Virginia

Erected by Sons and Daughters of Confederate Veterans.


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More about this marker. The marker is affixed to a corner of the Hotel Monaco in Old Town Alexandria. It is located on the South Pitt Street and King Street corner of the building. Marker has been permanently removed.


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Regarding The Marshall House:
On May 24, 1861 Union Col. Elmer E. Ellsworth of the 11th New York "Fire Zouaves" was shot to death by innkeeper James Jackson after having torn down the Stars and Bars flying from the roof of the hotel. Jackson in turn was killed on the spot by one of Ellsworth's men. In the immediate aftermath of Ellsworth's death, the young colonel and friend of President Lincoln became a martyr for the Northern cause. The South exalted Jackson as a defender of property rights in the face of Yankee aggression.


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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.


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Here follows information from the Fort Ward Museum Historic Site and Museum Collections:

Ft. Ward Museum in Alexandria, VA has an exhibit of artifacts related to the Ellsworth episode.

Photo of the Marshall House flag on display:
The flag is in the collections of the New York State Military Museum. The flag was conserved at the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation’s textile laboratory at Peebles Island in Waterford.

James W. Jackson's Name:
on Alexandria's Confederate Monument Added to the east side of the Monument in 1900.

James W. Jackson:
“In 1861 Jackson was 37 years old. His biographer described Jackson's face as “remarkable” in its expression…Grim, stern, obstinate determination was stamped emphatically on every feature. The forehead was low, and on it the hair, always slightly short, stood up defiantly.“ — Fort Ward Museum.

The Death of Colonel Ellsworth:
In this ca. 1862 painting by Alonzo Chappel, James W. Jackson shoots Elmer Ellsworth at the Marshall House; Corporal Brownell in the center is about to shoot Jackson in turn. On the stair behind Ellsworth is NY Tribune reporter Edward H. House. On display at the Fort Ward Museum.

Section of the Marshall House Flag:
“Alexandria innkeeper James Jackson raised the city's first Confederate flag over the Marshall House in April of 1861 after hearing news of the Virginia Convention's act to adopt a state ordinance of secession. Made by an Alexandria sailmaker and his family, the flag was patterned after the “Stars and Bars,” with red and white bars and a circle of seven stars on a blue field. An eighth star was added in the center for Virginia. Can you see the stain on a portion of the star? It is believed to be Elmer Ellsworth's blood. The largest section of the Marshall house flag is in the historical collections of the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs.” — Fort Ward Museum.

“O” from the Marshall House Sign:
“The Marshall House became a mecca for souvenir hunters after the deaths of Ellsworth and Jackson. A Union soldier from Rhode Island documented in a letter how he had taken a portion of the building's exterior sign “…I got in Alexandria at the Marshall House where Ellsworth was killed (took) the letter “O” of the sign off the house. They are built of gilt letters…” The soldier also obtained pieces of the stairway and banister as mementos. This practice was so common that by 1862 when the American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne visited the Marshall house, he wrote “The memorial-hunters have completely cut away the original woodwork…thus it becomes something like a metaphysical question whether the place of the murder actually exists.” — Fort Ward Museum.

Kepi belonging to Colonel Elmer Ellsworth:
“Col. Elmer Ellsworth was celebrated in the early days of the Civil War as a Union hero whose death in Alexandria, Virginia claimed him as the North's First Martyr. Ellsworth popularized the Zouave movement in America by organizing the Chicago Zouave Cadets in 1859. At the beginning of the Civil War, he raised the 11th New York “Fire” Zouaves, a regiment which participated in the Federal occupation of Alexandria on May 24, 1861. Zouave officers usually wore red kepis, a color typical of Zouave uniforms. Ellsworth's kepi reflects how officer' caps were often decorated with rows of gold braid, which indicated rank, and a Hungarian know design on the crown. The three vertical gold stripes on the sides of the cap's crown signified a field officer.” — Fort Ward Museum

Hotel Monaco:
Today the site of the Marshall House at King and Pitt Streets is occupied by the Hotel Monaco.

Jackson 20:
Strangely, “Jackson 20”, the bar at the Hotel Monaco, is named for Andrew Jackson, not James W. Jackson.

Ellsworth. Memorial:
Full title: Ellsworth. Memorial Col. E.E. Ellsworth, the patriot martyr. The Marshall house, Alexandria, Va. Francis E. Brownell, the avenger of Ellsworth. Photographed By Brady's National Photographic Portrait Galleries, 1861

Photographs show Colonel Elmer Ellsworth of Field and Staff, 11th New York Infantry Regiment; Marshall House at the corner of King and Pitt Streets, Alexandria, Virginia, the scene of the assassination of Col. Ellsworth on May 24, 1861; and Lieutenant Francis Brownell of Co. A, 11th New York Infantry Regiment, who killed James Jackson after he murdered Col. Ellsworth. -- Library of Congress


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Here follows an excerpt from the Spring 2007 edition of the "Franconia Legacies" newsletter published by the Franconia Museum:

Mosby & The Marshall House
by Don Hakenson

While researching information about war torn Alexandria I found an interesting mystery about John S. Mosby and his involvement with the town. The book was titled, “The Gray Jackets: and How They Lived, Fought and Died for Dixie,” written by James Dabney McCabe.

In the book a correspondent of the Philadelphia Press writing from Warrenton, Virginia on October 22d, 1863 wrote about a sign he found on the road while riding between Alexandria and Bull Run. The author was galloping along the Little River turnpike, worrying about Mosby and his guerillas, when he observed a newly white washed wall of a building that possessed a notice, written in great scrawling letters. The writer “begged leave to inform the people of Alexandria” that he had this day “dined at the Marshall House.” On the same line with the date, “September 30th, 1863,” was plainly written, “Major Mosby.”

Upon reading the story this author wondered if the “Gray Ghost” had actually dined and slept in the very room and on the exact same landing where Colonel Ellsworth was slain by the Southern martyr Jackson. I decided to investigate this story even further.

On September 27th and 28th, 1863, I found that Mosby and five rangers entered Fairfax County to attempt to apprehend Francis Pierpont, an individual described by most Southern Virginians as the bogus governor of Virginia.

In a letter dated October 1, 1863, Mosby wrote to his wife Pauline. He stated that he had just returned from a raid in the suburbs of Alexandria and burned a railroad bridge a quarter of a mile from two forts and directly in range of their batteries. He also stated that he captured Colonel Daniel F. Dulany, who was Pierpont’s aide and lived in Alexandria. One of the rangers with Mosby was French Dulany, who was Colonel Dulany’s son. French Dulany had assisted the partisan chieftain in capturing his own father.

Mosby continued to write in the letter that he had stopped at Mr. Hathaway’s yesterday, which would have been September 30th, 1863. So Mosby definitely returned from the general area of Alexandria during the above mentioned timeframe. Unfortunately, it is very unlikely that he would have stayed or ate at the Marshall House if he still possessed the prisoner Colonel Dulany. However, it is not out of the realm of possibility that Mosby may have sent his men back to Fauquier County with Colonel Dulany and stayed behind. Then Mosby could have entered Alexandria in disguise and wandered about the city until eventually stopping to eat at the famous Marshall House. Something, I am sure, that would have been of great interest to him.

Unfortunately, we will never know the truth about this escapade, unless some additional unforeseen information becomes available to the author for verification. However, it does make for an interesting tale and adds to Mosby’s illustrious lore.