 Colonel Ephraim Elmore Ellsworth Plaque. Bronze. Uniface. 88.8 mm. 8.7 mm. thick. Bust half left. Unsigned. Ellsworth was colonel of the New York Fire Zouaves and, as Lossing stated, his was the first death of note in the war and the first since campaigning started. In May, 1861 in the center of Alexandria, Virginia, Ellsworth demanded the owner of an inn remove the rebel flag flying from its window. The owner, a man named Jackson, shot Ellsworth on the spot and was in turn executed by Ellsworth's escort. Ellsworth's body lay in state in the East Room at the White House; Lincoln was chief mourner. New York City put on a grand funeral parade.
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