Deaths on May 24

Elmer E. Ellsworth

Died on May 24, 1861

Elmer E. Ellsworth, American colonel (b. 1837)

Elmer Ephraim Ellsworth (April 11, 1837 – May 24, 1861) was a United States Army officer and law clerk who was the first conspicuous casualty and the first Union officer to die in the American Civil War. He was killed while removing a Confederate flag from the roof of the Marshall House inn in Alexandria, Virginia.Before the war, Ellsworth led a touring military drill team, the "Zouave Cadets of Chicago". He was a close personal friend of Abraham Lincoln, who as President later eulogized him as "the greatest little man I ever met". After his death, Ellsworth's body lay in state at the White House. The phrase, "Remember Ellsworth", became a rallying cry and call to arms for the Union Army.

References

Elmer E. Ellsworth

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Events on 1861

19 Jan

Georgia (U.S. state)
American Civil War: Georgia joins South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama in declaring secession from the United States.
21 Jan

Jefferson Davis
American Civil War: Jefferson Davis resigns from the United States Senate.
20 Apr

Robert E. Lee
American Civil War: Robert E. Lee resigns his commission in the United States Army in order to command the forces of the state of Virginia.
8 May

Richmond, Virginia
American Civil War: Richmond, Virginia is named the capital of the Confederate States of America.
6 Sep

Ulysses S. Grant
American Civil War: Forces under Union General Ulysses S. Grant bloodlessly capture Paducah, Kentucky, giving the Union control of the Tennessee River's mouth.

Deaths on May 24

Elmer E. Ellsworth

Died on May 24, 1861

References

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Events on 1861

Georgia (U.S. state)

Jefferson Davis

Robert E. Lee

Richmond, Virginia

Ulysses S. Grant