Elmer Ellsworth was a confidant and close friend of President Abraham Lincoln and James Jackson was a staunch secessionist and both had an encounter in Alexandria, Virginia, on May 24, 1861. Jackson shot and killed the 24-year-old colonel as he was descending the hotel stairs after removing a huge Confederate flag from the roof of Jackson's three-story hotel.
Jackson fired a shotgun into Ellsworth's chest at which time his troops instantly killed Jackson.
ELLSWORTH'S LIFE
Elmer Ellsworth left Mechanicsville before the war and moved to Chicago where he founded a military drill team called the Zouaves based on North African units serving with the French Army. These troops were noted for their baggy-red trousers and tasseled fezzes.
He later clerked in Lincoln's law office where he became a close friend, campaigning hard during Lincoln's presidential campaign.
After Fort Sumter, Ellsworth raised the 11th New York Volunteer Infantry, called the Fire Zouaves because they were largely recruited from the city's fire men.
More to Come. --Old B-R'er
No comments:
Post a Comment