The Battle of Fort Fisher, N.C.

Friday, May 20, 2011

150th Anniversary of Death of First Union Officer-- Part 1

From the May 15th Sarasota (Fl) Herald-Tribune "New York honoring 1st Union officer killed in the Civil War" by Chris Carola.

This coming Tuesday, May 24th, will mark the 150th anniversary of the death of Union Colonel Elmer Ellsworth.

Colonel Ellsworth and James Jackson died within a few feet of and within seconds of each other "yet the perspectives reflected in historical markers to the two men are as far apart as the 333 miles separating one tribute from another."

James Jackson killed Ellsworth in Alexandria, Virginia, and within seconds, was killed himself by the colonel's men.

Ellsworth's monument is in Mechanicsville, New York, on the Hudson River and doesn't mention Jackson's name. Jackson's plaque on the corner of a suburban DC building, where his hotel once stood, does not mention Ellsworth's name.

The monument in New York is recognized as that of the first Union officer to die. The plaque hails Jackson as the South's first martyr.

And, We Still Have a Great Divide Between the Sections. --Old B-Runner

No comments: