“His (E.E. Ellsworth's) person was strikingly prepossessing. His form, though slight – exactly Napoleonic size – was very compact and commanding; the head statuesquely poised, and crowned with a luxuriance of curling black hair; a hazel eye, bright, though serene, the eye of a gentleman as well as a soldier; a nose such as you see on Roman medals; a light moustache just shading the lips, that were continually curving into the sunniest smiles. His voice, deep and musical, instantly attracted attention; and his address, though not without soldierly brusqueness, was sincere and courteous.”
– John Hay, President Abraham Lincoln’s private secretary
I cringe at the sight of a Confederate flag – In Ohio? In 2021? I understand the history of the banner … the entire argument that the battle flag was never the “official symbol” and the need to protect heritage and all the rest. But, I know this enduring symbol stands for defiance and rebellion at the least, and, at the most, it is still representative of an ideal of whiteness and the social and political exclusion of non-white people – in a word, it screams “Racism!”
I see those who fly the flag now as folks who ignorantly see something redemptive in a very offensive piece of cloth. (And I say “ignorant” in the dictionary denotation of “lacking knowledge, information, or awareness about a particular thing.”)
Just a little background on the blog entry today …
Confederate symbols have not always been a part of American or Southern life. They largely disappeared after the Civil War. In fact, for several decades after the Civil War, the Confederate battle emblem was rarely displayed – typically only during tributes to actual Confederate veterans. It was not part of state flags or other official symbols or displays. The Confederate battle flag was so uncommon that in 1930, Sen. Coleman Livingston Blease had to have one specially made by the Daughters of South Carolina for him to display in his office.
It wasn’t until 1948 that the Confederate flag re-emerged as a potent political symbol. The reason was the Dixiecrat revolt – when Strom Thurmond led a walkout of white Southerners from the Democratic National Convention to protest President Harry S. Truman’s push for civil rights.
(Logan Strother, Thomas Ogorzalek, and Spencer Piston. “The Confederate flag largely disappeared after the Civil War. The fight against civil rights brought it back.” The Washington Post. June 12, 2017.)
Today's entry relates to the Confederate flag, my hometown of Lucasville, and to Ellsworth Grand Army of the Republic Post No. 382. The writing is an attempt to illuminate an important piece of history as it relates to the symbolic nature of the rebel banner and what it represented to Union troops during the before, during, and after the Civil War. So many Union veterans rest in our local cemeteries. I firmly believe we should continue to respect their memory and honor the rightful heritage of the United States of America. To me, that means understanding the real reason for the Civil War: it was fought over the moral issue of slavery, not for states’ rights or southern “honor.” And, any preservation of the Confederate flag should entail the weight of the banner.
So, please let me share this story. It is entirely true. Those who fought to preserve the union of the United States of America knew the facts, and they still call out from beyond the grave to those who will listen.
The Grand Army of the Republic
The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a patriotic organization of the U.S. Civil War veterans who served the Federal Forces. One of its purposes was being the “defense of the late soldiery of the United States – morally, socially, and politically.” But into the earliest hour of well-worn peace after the war, there came the presence of disabled veterans, suffering families, and distressed homes. The aid to these came cheerfully the GAR.
Founded in Springfield, Illinois in early 1866, it reached its peak in membership (more than 400,000) in 1890. For a time, the GAR was a powerful political influence.
Membership declined as veterans died, but as late as 1923, 65,382 members remained. In 1949, six of the surviving veterans met at Indianapolis for the 83rd and last national encampment. In 1956, the GAR was dissolved; its records went to the Library of Congress, Washington D.C. and its badges, flags, and official seal to the Smithsonian Institute.
The GAR was very strong in Ohio. The state encampments attracted thousands of veterans and their supporters. Numerous GAR retirement homes existed in the state. One GAR home became the Ohio Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' Home in 1870. The GAR established the home in 1869, and the state government assumed control of it in 1870 to provide Ohio veterans and their children with assistance.
The Ellsworth Post No. 382, Lucasville, Ohio, was chartered September 29, 1883. (Ohio Dept GAR Archives Ohio Historical Society)
And, here's where the story of Lucasville with its Ohio GAR gets interesting. It's all about Post 382's namesake, Ephraim Elmer Ellsworth (1837-1861). The name of No. 382 represents so much. And, the man and one particular Confederate flag remain firmly related in American history.
Ephraim Elmer Ellsworth
Ephraim Ellsworth was born in a little town of Malta, New York, on April 11, 1837. He grew up in Mechanicville, New York, and later moved to New York City, In 1854, Ellsworth moved to Rockford, Illinois, where he worked for a patent agency. And, then, in 1859, he became engaged to Carrie Spafford, the daughter of a local industrialist and city leader. When Carrie's father demanded that he find more suitable employment, he moved to Chicago to study law and work as a law clerk.
Ellsworth's young dream was to thoroughly reorganize the United States militia. He also dreamed of attending West Point, but a lack of money and proper education deemed that unfeasible.
In 1857, Ellsworth became drillmaster of the "Rockford Greys", the local militia company. He studied military science in his spare time. After some success with the Greys, he helped train militia units in Milwaukee and Madison. When he moved to Chicago, he became Colonel of Chicago's National Guard Cadets, with which he traveled at times, giving exhibitions and taking prizes.
Ellsworth had studied the Zouave soldiers, French colonial troops in Algeria, and was impressed by their reported fighting quality. He outfitted his men in Zouave-style uniforms, and modeled their drill and training on the Zouaves. Soon, Ellsworth's unit became a nationally famous drill team.
When Abraham Lincoln made the journey to Washington for his first inauguration, Ellsworth was in his escort. Ellsworth had become friends with Abraham Lincoln back in Illinois – in 1860, Ellsworth had taken a job in Abraham Lincoln’s Springfield law office. Now, he became an Army Second Lieutenant in Lincoln's administration.
Following the fall of Fort Sumter to Confederate Army troops in mid-April 1861, and Lincoln's subsequent call for 75,000 volunteers to defend the nation's capital, Ellsworth raised the 11th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment (the "Fire Zouaves" 1,100 strong) from New York City's volunteer firefighting companies, and was then commissioned as the regiment's commanding officer.
On May 23, 1861, the regiment reported to Washington. Just hours after Virginia announced its secession, the unit joined a raiding party sent to retake the city of Alexandria for the Union.
On May 24, the day after Virginia voters ratified the state convention’s decision to secede from the Union, Ellsworth and his troops entered Alexandria, Virginia, to assist in the occupation of the city. As it happened, an 8- by 14-foot Confederate flag – large enough to be seen by spyglass from the White House – had been visible in Alexandria for weeks, flown from the roof of an inn, the Marshall House. For weeks this flag had been visible, including from Lincoln's second-floor White House office.
The regiment, organized only six weeks earlier, encountered no resistance as it moved through the city. James Barber, National Portrait Gallery historian notes, however, that “the Zouaves were an unruly bunch, spoiling for a fight, and when they got into Alexandria they may have felt they were already in the thick of it. So Ellsworth may have wanted to get that flag down quickly to prevent trouble.”
At the Marshall House, Barber adds, “Colonel Ellsworth just happened to meet the one person he didn’t want to meet” – innkeeper James W. Jackson, a zealous defender of slavery (and, says Barber, a notorious slave abuser) with a penchant for violence.
Ellsworth approached the inn with only four troopers. As Ellsworth spied the Confederate flag “flaunting from the roof” of the Marshall House Inn “in the very eyes of the government at Washington,” he, “with his own hands,” climbed up to take it down. As he descended the stairs from the cupola, banner in tow, Ellsworth was fatally shot by innkeeper Jackson – “the slug from the gun of the Virginia assassin driving into the loyal heart as it was stilled in death.”
As Ellsworth lay dying, one of his men found a gold medal on his chest with the inscription, “Non Sol Nobis, Sed Pro Patrio” (Not for Ourselves, but for Our Country). Jackson was shot and killed by Cpl. Francis Brownell of Ellsworth's regiment as Ellsworth fell.
In this way, the country’s premiere Zouave became the first conspicuous casualty of the Civil War, and, at the age of 24, Ellsworth became the first Union officer killed in the war. He also became a hero and martyr for the Union. When President Abraham Lincoln learned that Union Army Col. Elmer E. Ellsworth had been killed, the President exclaimed, "My boy! My boy! Was it necessary this sacrifice should be made?"
Lincoln's letter to parents Ephraim D. and Phoebe Ellsworth, May 25, 1861 …
“To the Father and Mother of Col. Elmer E. Ellsworth:
“My dear Sir and Madam, In the untimely loss of your noble son, our affliction here, is scarcely less than your own. So much of promised usefulness to one's country, and of bright hopes for one's self and friends, have rarely been so suddenly dashed, as in his fall. In size, in years, and in youthful appearance, a boy only, his power to command men, was surpassingly great. This power, combined with a fine intellect, an indomitable energy, and a taste altogether military, constituted in him, as seemed to me, the best natural talent, in that department, I ever knew. And yet he was singularly modest and deferential in social intercourse. My acquaintance with him began less than two years ago; yet through the latter half of the intervening period, it was as intimate as the disparity of our ages, and my engrossing engagements, would permit. To me, he appeared to have no indulgences or pastimes; and I never heard him utter a profane, or intemperate word. What was conclusive of his good heart, he never forgot his parents. The honors he labored for so laudably, and, in the sad end, so gallantly gave his life, he meant for them, no less than for himself.
“In the hope that it may be no intrusion upon the sacredness of your sorrow, I have ventured to address you this tribute to the memory of my young friend, and your brave and early fallen child.
“May God give you that consolation which is beyond all earthly power. Sincerely your friend in a common affliction.
“ – A. Lincoln”
A reporter from the New York Tribune happened to be on the scene; news of the shootings traveled fast. Because Ellsworth had been Lincoln’s friend, his body was taken to the White House, where it lay in state, and then to New York City, where thousands lined up to view the cortege bearing Ellsworth’s coffin. Along the route, a group of mourners displayed a banner that declared: “Ellsworth, ‘His blood cries for vengeance.’”
“Remember Ellsworth!” became a Union rallying cry, and Prominent individuals in New York called for the creation of a new regiment from the men of the entire state to avenge the young officer’s death. The soldiers were to come from every town and ward in the state, and be unmarried, no shorter than 5’8’’ and no older than thirty. The result was the 44th New York Infantry Regiment, which would gain the nickname of “Ellsworth’s Avengers.”
The regiment was organized in August 1861 and joined the Army of the Potomac in late October 1861 in Virginia. The regiment would gain glory for its gallantry at Gettysburg. It would also participate in the Battles of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg. It was mustered out of service on 11 October 1864. Throughout its service to the Union Army, its battle cry remained: “Remember Ellsworth!”
According to Barber, “Throughout the conflict, Ellsworth's name, face and valor would be recalled on stationery, in sheet music and in memorial lithographs.” One side’s villain is another side’s patriot, of course, so Jackson was similarly celebrated in the South and in an 1862 book, Life of James W. Jackson, The Alexandria Hero.
(Owen Edwards. “The Death of Colonel Ellsworth.” Smithsonian Magazine. April 2011.)
Conclusions
Ellsworth’s death resonated so greatly throughout the North that it is somewhat shocking at how little-known his name is today. Perhaps history lessons like this would dampen the modern fascination with the Confederate flag and the Lost Cause – an American pseudo-historical, negationist ideology that advocates the belief that the cause of the Confederate States during the American Civil War was heroic, just, and not centered on slavery.
Instead, we surely should remember and revere those heroic soldiers like Ephraim Elmer Ellsworth, who preserved the Union we love today. A fictional, portrayal of the Confederacy continues to romanticize rebels and deny the central role of slavery and white supremacy in the conflict.
It is my wish that this story about that hideous Confederate flag and all of its evil symbolism reaches out to all, but especially to those who find its display appealing today. The heroic people who have defended our own United States “Old Glory” realize the freedom and justice woven into that fabric of red, white, and blue. So many in the Civil War died to remove the Confederate flag from our national conscience. Ellsworth was only the first … an estimated 364,510 followed.
“The beginnings of great periods have often been marked and made memorable by striking events. Out of the cloud that hangs around the vague inceptions of revolutions, a startling incident will sometimes flash like lightning, to show that the warring elements have begun their work …
“No one ever possessed greater power of enforcing the respect and fastening the affections of men. Strangers soon recognized and acknowledged this power; while to his friends he (Ellsworth) always seemed like a Paladin or Cavalier of the dead days of romance and beauty.”
– John Hay, President Abraham Lincoln’s private secretary (Published in July 1861, this excerpt from an article describes the rapid dissolution of the Union and the impending Civil War)
Lucasville GAR No. 382 Information
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