Historically significant red swatch of the Confederate flag removed from the Marshall House by Col. Elmer E. Ellsworth during the Union's advance on Alexandria, Virginia, on May 24, 1861. The swatch measures approximately .75 x .75 and is affixed to a sheet along with an ink signature of one of Ellsworth's men, "Compliments of Frank E. Brownell," who avenged his death that day. Includes a newspaper clipping from the late 1890s describing the relic as having been given by Brownell to William H. Van Every, one of his former school teachers. Nicely mounted, matted, and framed along with portraits of Ellsworth and Brownell to an overall size of 29.5 x 13. In fine condition.
The Marshall House was a hotel in Alexandria run by ardent secessionist James W. Jackson, who shot and killed Col. Ellsworth after he removed the Confederate flag flying atop the hotel. Ellsworth, a prominent military leader and close friend of Abraham Lincoln, thus became the first officer killed in battle in the war. Reacting immediately to Ellsworth's death, Brownell killed Jackson; this was the first Civil War deed to merit the Medal of Honor, which he was finally awarded in 1877. Ellsworth and Jackson were seen as martyrs for their respective causes, with 'Remember Ellsworth' becoming a popular patriotic slogan on the Union side. Relics associated with this important early incident are highly sought after, and a similar flag remnant belongs to the Smithsonian Institution.
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