May 24, 1861 - Marshall House Incident, Restored Government of VA at Gadsby's Tavern, and Lee leave home
May 24, 1861
The Marshall House Incident
Alexandria, VA
* "first two deaths from violence, representing each side of the national conflict, during the American Civil War."
"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."
The artifacts from the Fort Ward Museum
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| As it says, Col. Ellsworth's kepi |
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| That's what he look like, and that might be a piece of the flag in question |
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| My favorite U.S. Flag - 35 stars. |
And, would anybody mind if I stick this here? "Spring of 1861" also in Alexandria, VA
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=191972 "After Virginia seceded in the spring of 1861, Unionists met in Wheeling and organized a state government loyal to the U.S. under Gov. Francis H. Pierpont. The Restored Government, which sent representatives to the U.S. Congress and raised federal troops, moved to Alexandria in Aug. 1863. Pierpont was based at the City Hotel (Gadsby's Tavern) before moving to 415 Prince St. The General Assembly, representing Northern Virginia, the Eastern Shore, and Hampton Roads, met at City Hall. Members authorized a convention that adopted Virginia's Constitution of 1864, which abolished slavery and secured other reforms. The government moved to Richmond in May 1865; its constitution was in effect in 1869."   "Erected 1792. Popular resort and famous hostelry of the Eighteenth Century. Here was held in 1798 the first celebration of Washington's Birthday in which he participated, and from its steps Washington held his last military review and gave his last military order, November 1799." More from Alexandria.This goes here too.  "Alexandria was named for the family of John Alexander, a Virginia planter who in 1669 acquired the tract on which the town began. By 1732, the site was known as Hunting Creek Warehouse and in 1749 became Alexandria, thereafter a major 18th-century port. George Washington frequented the town; Robert E. Lee claimed it as his boyhood home. From 1801 to 1847 Alexandria was part of the District of Columbia, and was later occupied by Federal troops during the Civil War. By the 20th century it had become a major railroad center. In 1946, Alexandria created the third historic district in the United States to protect its 18th - and - 19th century buildings." And, also for those that might care, Braddock stayed here before the French-Indian War.  "Civil War Comes to Carlyle House If you stood in this spot 150 years ago, you would be inside a building! In 1848 James Green purchased Carlyle House and the building in front of you, the first Bank of Alexandria. He turned it into a hotel and in 1855 expanded the hotel across the front lawn of Carlyle House. During the Civil War, the town was occupied by the Union Army, and Green's "Mansion House Hotel" became a hospital. The building could hold up to 700 sick and wounded soldiers. Mary Phinney, a nurse here, described the constant flow of stretchers in and out of the hospital. Many fascinating figures were a part of the hospital's history, including poet Walt Whitman, Confederate spy Frank Stringfellow, and Sarah Emma Edmonds, a woman who disguised herself as a male Union soldier. Restored to its Former Glory: Carlyle House Unveiled By the late 1960s, the Carlyle House and grounds were in a state of great disrepair. The Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority acquired the house in 1970 and began a six year project of research and restoration. The former Civil War hospital, now an again apartment building, was torn down and the home of John Carlyle built was once again revealed. Carlyle House Historic Park opened to the public in January of 1976 as a part of the Bicentennial of the American Revolution." ************************************************************* Also in May of 1861, also in Fairfax County, VA  "The nearby Ravensworth mansion provided a safe haven for Mrs. Robert E. Lee (Mary Randolph Custis Lee) at the beginning of the Civil War. Constructed about 1796, Ravensworth was the home of Mrs. Lee’s widowed aunt, Anna Maria Fitzhugh. The newlywed Lees spent part of their honeymoon there in July 1831. In May 1861, Gen. Robert E. Lee left his wife’s home, Arlington House, for Richmond to become commander of state troops and military advisor to Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Concerned for his wife’s safety so close to the U.S. capital, Lee urged her to move to her “Cousin Anna’s” home, Ravensworth. She was reluctant to go and later wrote, “I left my home in obedience to the wishes of my husband.” After less than a month, she left Ravensworth for other relatives’ homes after Lee wrote that her presence might imperil Mrs. Fitzhugh. Mrs. Fitzhugh remained at Ravensworth throughout the war with a few slaves. The house and its occupants escaped “serious molestation,” although both armies seized some of the property’s resources. Federal soldiers cut wood there in February 1863. Confederate Maj. John Scott wrote that on August 23,1863, Confederate Maj. John S. Mosby and his rangers slept in a haystack there and in the morning were shocked to “find themselves in full view of and close proximity to an encampment of Yankees.” *FYI neither of those is getting it's own day/blog-entry After Mrs. Fitzhugh died in 1874, the Lee children inherited Ravensworth. In 1877, the U.S. government rejected a claim from the estate for reimbursement for 3,000 pounds of hay seized during the war. The house burned in 1926." The story checks out, according to the other marker behind this one:  |
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