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| Friday May 24, 1861 |
At 2:00 A.M. on May 24, 1861, the day after the citizens of
Virginia voted three to one to secede from the Union, 11
regiments of Union soldiers invaded Virginia and occupied the
countryside across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.
The few Rebel pickets in Arlington, the town directly across the
river from Washington, quickly retreated from the two Union
columns that descended upon them. Confederate Gen. Robert
E. Lee's spacious estate on Arlington Heights was quickly
occupied as a Union military command post. The 700 Virginia
militiamen stationed six miles downstream at Alexandria, an
important port and railroad center, were warned of this invasion
in time for all but 35 of them to retreat through one end of town
as Union troops rushed in the other.
Two Union forces converged on Alexandria. Col. Orlando B.
Wilcox and his 1st Michigan Regiment marched down from
Arlington and Col. Elmer E. Ellsworth and his exotically dressed
11th New York Zouave Regiment arrived at the Alexandria
wharf aboard three river steamers. The Zouaves rushed ashore
at daybreak and quickly secured the railroad station and
telegraph office. As Ellsworth moved through the town, he spied
a large Confederate flag flying from atop an inn called the
Marshall House.
Ellsworth rushed into the inn with four companions, climbed the
stairs to the top, and cut down the flag. As they were going
back down with the flag, innkeeper James W. Jackson met them
at the third floor landing with a double-barreled shotgun in his
hands. Jackson was killed -- shot in the face, bayoneted, and
pushed down the steps -- but not before he pulled the trigger
and killed Ellsworth.
The Union invasion was a resounding success. The 24 year old
Ellsworth had been a personal friend of President Abraham
Lincoln, and his body lay in state at the White House. Ellsworth
became a Union martyr, and babies, streets, and even towns
were named after him.
Fascinating Fact: "Jackson perished a'mid the pack of wolves,"
said a Southern report. Jackson became a martyr to the South
and many poems, songs, and illustrations about the Marshall
House incident were published. Enlistments soared on both
sides following the deaths.