(ELMER ELLSWORTH PERIOD MOURNING DISPLAY)
EPHRAIM ELMER ELLSWORTH (1837-1861) Union officer and a close friend of Lincoln, leader of 'Ellsworth's Zouaves" who was killed by a hotel owner in Alexandria after tearing down a Confederate flag which had flown above the hotel. His death made Ellsworth a martyr for the Union. A great contemporary grouping of three items associated with Ellsworth's death, assembled under crudely-cut glass in a period wood frame. Included is a very rare black crepe Ellsworth mourning badge, a 2" circle of bunched black crepe with two ribbons hanging below. At center is attached a gem-sized tintype of Ellsworth showing him in uniform from the waist, up, the photo set in a brass mat. Beneath is a 2" x 1/4" section of red fabric with a period note resting above: "A piece of the secession Flag taken down at the Marshall House Alexandria by Colonel Ellsworth of the Regiment of Zouaves - For which patriotic act he was murderously shot by a rebel named Jackson". Both items rest upon a 5" x 7 1/2" (sight) albumen photo of the Marshall House in Alexandria, where Ellsworth was shot by hotel owner James W. Jackson on May 24, 1861. Verso backed in marbled paper. Overall fine.